Jana Pittman has won her first international race since last year's world championships, proving she is back in the mix with the world's best.

Pittman claimed victory in the 400 metres hurdles in 54.15 seconds at Zagreb, Croatia, after setting a personal best time over the first eight hurdles.

She faded in the final leg to finish in a time below her best effort of 53.22s.

The win was made sweeter for the world champion after a disastrous start to her pre-Olympic competition on Saturday when she false started in Lille and failed to finish the race.

Coach Phil King was pleased with the result and relieved his charge had a win under her belt after Saturday's hiccup, although he was expecting her to race under 54 seconds.

"We were after 53 tonight, the conditions were pretty good and Jana won by about 40 metres," he said.

"There's a couple of seconds between her and the next best so it was like a time trial but it was good for her confidence.

"She at PB (personal best) until hurdle eight and slowed down a little bit in the last 100 metres."

It was also the first time Pittman had achieved an Olympic A qualifying time since last year's world championships in Paris and guaranteed her a spot on the Australian team to be announced next week.

Pittman failed to compete in much of this year's domestic season as she struggled with a misaligned pelvis.

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