Christophe Lemaitre targets 200m gold at 2012 Olympics

Lemaitre won three gold medals at the 2010 European Championships

European sprint champion Christophe Lemaitre has targeted gold in the 200m at the 2012 London Olympics and says he may not even run in the 100m.

Speaking exclusively to BBC Sport ahead of the Rome Diamond League meeting on Thursday he said: "I think it's more reasonable to run one distance.

"For the Olympics, my aim is to try and win the gold in the 200m."

Asked if he would compete in the 100m, the 20-year-old said: "Things can change but normally no."

The European 100m, 200m and 4x100m champion is in Rome for a sprint showdown with triple Olympic champion, Usain Bolt, and former world record holder, Asafa Powell.

At a press conference on Tuesday Bolt said he expected big things to come from the Frenchman, stating: "I think in years to come he could be up there in the top three or four sprinters in the world."

The shy Frenchman said he was honoured by such praise and then revealed his plan for the 2011 season.

"For the world championships [in September] my goal is to reach the final of the 100 and 200m and try to finish fourth or fifth," he said.

"I came to this race [in Rome] because Bolt and Asafa are really great sprinters. So I will try just to work on my technique and run hard against them."