’Blade Runner’ Oscar Pistorius insisted he was not a “pioneer” despite qualifying for the semi-finals of the 400 metres on his historic appearance at the World Championships in Daegu today.

EXPECT to see Derval O’Rourke running a lot more 100m races between now and London 2012 as her coach, Sean Cahill, attempts to improve her overall performance over the 100m hurdles.

DAVID GILLICK was one of the victims as last night’s 400m final turned the form book upside down and the lesser-known of the two Borlee brothers, Kevin, stormed to victory at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.

David Gillick's attempt to win Ireland's first medal at the European Championships ended in disappointment tonight as he finished fifth in the 400m final.

DAVID GILLICK ran to within two hundredths of a second of his national record to win his semi-final in 44.79 secs and earn his place in tomorrow’s men’s 400m final which promises to be the race of the European championships.

David Gillick got his bid for the European 400 metres title off to a solid start in Barcelona yesterday.

DAVID GILLICK put down a marker when he cruised up the home straight to win yesterday’s first round heat of the men’s 400m at the Olympic Stadium in 45.84 secs.

OLIVE LOUGHNANE gets the programme under way in the women’s 20k walk at 7.05am (Irish time) when she faces a field of just 23 in her quest to add a European Championship medal to her world championship medal and only Sonia O’Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan have done that in outdoor competition before.

David Gillick, who has high hopes of a podium finish in Barcelona, comfortably negotiated the opening round of the 400 metres at the European Athletics Championships this morning.

COACH Nick Dakin is looking for a winning performance from David Gillick in this morning’s first-round heats of the 400m at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona to ensure a good lane draw for the semi-finals.

USAIN BOLT again stole the show before a sell-out attendance at the Ivo Van Damme Memorial Golden League meeting in Brussels last night setting a new stadium record when winning the 200m in 19.57 secs — only himself and Michael Johnson have run quicker.

JIM KIDD, David Gillick’s former coach at Dundrum/South Dublin, predicts he will break the Irish record in the final of the men’s 400m at the world championships in Berlin this evening (8.20 pm Irish time).

A LITTLE under a year ago, David Gillick’s world was caving in around him. His Olympic 400m campaign came and went in 45.83 seconds as he failed to progress beyond the first round in the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

THE race may not have lived up to its billing but Ireland’s David Gillick won’t complain about that after finishing third behind the Olympic champion, LaShawn Merritt (USA) in the 400m at last night’s Super Grand Prix meeting in Monte Carlo.

David Gillick got his first taste of the Olympics when the Irish athletics team landed at Beijing Capital Airport on Saturday, greeted by smiling volunteers and some eager local journalists.

PAUL HESSION ran another seasonal best for third place in the 200m while two more third places for David Gillick in the 400m and Alistair Cragg in the 3,000m at the Aviva Grand Prix in Crystal Palace underscored a weekend of highs and lows for Ireland’s Beijing-bound athletes.

Ireland's Alistair Cragg and David Gillick both put in solid displays at today's Aviva London Grand Prix, claiming third place finishes as they continued their build-up to Beijing.

ROISÍN McGETTIGAN earned a deserved and timely boost in advance of the Olympic Games when she won the women’s steeplechase at the first session of the VIVA British Grand Prix at Crystal Palace last night.

DAVID GILLICK was returning to the scene of last year’s record-breaking performance when he raced in Geneva and, while the record he set there remains intact at 45.23 secs, his 45.65 sec opener was spectacular.

DAVID GILLICK battled his way through to today’s semi-finals of the men’s 400m but there was heartbreak for Derval O’Rourke when she failed in her attempt to get a place in the final of the women’s 100m hurdles at the World Championships in Osaka.