Gregan through to 400-metre final

ATHLETICS NEWS ROUND-UP:BRIAN GREGAN has once again demonstrated his enormous potential by making the final of the 400 metres at the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Gregan is the first Irish athlete to make the one-lap final at World Junior level and lines up later today with a chance of making it into the medals.

The Dubliner was running in the second of three semi-finals yesterday, and ended up taking second in 46.88 seconds, just short of his Irish record of 46.70 - and also just down on Germany's winner, Niklas Zender, who posted 46.78.

Gregan was the joint-fifth-fastest qualifier, but finished suggesting there is more in the tank.

The first semi-final was won by Grenada's James Kirani in 46.55, while the American Wilder O'Neill took the first semi-final in 46.08 - and if Gregan can marginally improve on his Irish record then he's clearly in with a shout of a medal.

The Waterford and Ferrybank AC duo of Kalyn Sheehan and Jessica Barr ran well in the heats of the 400-metre hurdles but missed out on the semi-final.

Sheehan was desperately close and missed out by just one place, finishing fourth in her heat in a personal best of 59.88 seconds, while Barr was fifth in her heat in 60 seconds flat, again not far off qualification.

Finally, Leitrim's Laura Reynolds found the pace a little too hot in 10km walk, and while she did finish in a personal best of 51:58.15 this was only good enough for 30th place.

The winner, Tatyana Mineeva of Russia, clocked a championship record of 43:24.72.