Gillick starts as second favourite

AthelticsHe may well be the reigning European Indoor champion but David Gillick is very much second favourite in the 400 metres going into the European Under-23 championships, which begin this morning in the old German town of Erfurt.

Gillick's memorable success in Madrid in March did catapult him to the top of European 400-metre running, but since then a new face has emerged in the form of Britain's Robert Tobin. Last month Tobin ran 45.01 seconds in Geneva, which still stands as the fastest time by any European athlete this summer, senior, under-23 or otherwise.

Gillick has a major challenge on his hands. However, the Dundrum athlete has transferred his excellent indoor form to the outdoor track by running a personal best of 45.93 seconds in Turin in his first race of the season.

This morning's heats will tell a lot about form, and whether Tobin looks capable of repeating his 45.01. No other entrant besides Gillick and Tobin has broken 45 seconds this summer, so if everything goes to plan Gillick should be in the hunt for a medal in Saturday's final.

Paul Hession was another potential medal winner in the 200 metres but was forced to withdraw earlier this week with a lower back injury.

Yet there are some further medal hopes from the distance runners. Mullingar athlete Martin Fagan is ranked third fastest in the 10,000 metres thanks to his 28 minutes, 59.89 clocking in California in April.

Monaghan's Ciarán O'Connell is the fastest of the three Irish entrants in this evening's 800 metres heats, where he's joined by Liam Reale and Thomas Chamney.

Anna Boyle and Ailish McSweeney lead the charge in the sprints in the women's 100 metres, while Fionnuala Britton becomes the first Irish woman to compete at a major championship in the 3,000 metres steeplechase.

IRISH TEAM (for the European Under-23 championships): Men - 400m: David Gillick, David McCarthy; 800m: Liam Reale, Thomas Chamney, Ciarán O'Connell; 1,500m: Mark Christie, Reale; 5,000m: Joseph Sweeney; 10,000m: Martin Fagan; Women - 100m: Ailis McSweeney, Anna Boyle; 400m: Joanne Cuddihy; 3,000m steeplechase: Fionnuala Britton.