Pencil in March 22 in Sydney for the most eagerly awaited clash of the track and field A-Series.

Cathy Freeman against Jana Pittman over 400 metres. The present versus the future.

Less than a fortnight short of her 30th birthday, Freeman is champing at the bit to get back into action.

Following her Olympic sabbatical and a 2002 mostly ruined by injury and family illness, Freeman has demanded a busy racing program this year.

The Sydney Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion will start with a 200m in the opening round of the A-Series in Adelaide on Thursday, followed by a 400m two days later in Perth.

She then plans to run in most of the other five A-Series meets, plus the national trials in Brisbane in early April before heading overseas in the leadup to the world championships in Paris.

Pittman, 20, will race more sparingly in the next couple of months.

The dual 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medallist will run three 400m hurdles in the A-Series and only the one 400m at the Sydney Athletic Centre before the national trials.

"Both Cathy and I have our goals set towards the world championships at the end of the year," Pittman said at the A-Series launch.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity (of racing her) but I think it basically gives us the chance to see how we're going and how our training is going at this time of the year because our main focus will obviously be on Europe.

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