In-form Gillick scoops July award
That time was franked in his next outing at the Golden Gala in Rome where he posted 44.82 secs to consolidate his position among the top one-lap runners in the world and the fastest European this season over 400m.
What has become the most spectacular season of his athletics career to date began on a low note when he crashed out at the semi-final stages has he was bidding for a sensational third successive European indoor title.
The outdoor season promised riches beyond belief when, after a string of victories, he made the breakthrough he had been seeking for so long.
“It had to come,” he said. “I just could not see myself going into another winter of hard training just running 45 seconds.
“It was always the aim to break 45 and this is something that hangs over you until you do. Now I can push on. The season has been very consistent for me so far so I just want to maintain that form in Berlin.
“The one thing I have been really happy with aside from my times is that I have been placing well. When it comes to championships it doesn’t matter what time you run as long as you the placing to progress through the rounds. If it comes to a semi-final or final I don’t care what time I run as long as it gets me into the top three.”
David Gillick will open his world championship campaign in the heats of the 400m at 10.05am on Tuesday morning and that’s just after Paul Hession gets his 200m campaign underway with the heats starting at 9.05am.
Like Gillick, the Athenry sprinter has consolidated his position among the top 200m runners in the world with a string of victories and top placings this season.
“I have had another really good season so far,” he said. “I was racing at really good meets against some of the best athletes in the world and I was able to compete with them. In London I finished third in 20.40 secs behind Tyson Gay and Wallace Spearmon so that was really encouraging. I am feeling really good and the main thing is to ensure I am at my best.”
Now he knows that should he come up against the likes of Usain Bolt in the preliminaries he won’t be fazed.
“I have raced against Usain since I was 15 so this is nothing new to me,” he said. “I am looking forward to seeing if he will break the world record in the 100m but in the 200m I won’t be thinking about what he does. I will be concentrating on putting in the performance of my life.”
