Gillick turns on the style to book 400m final spot

DAVID GILLICK produced the third fastest time of his career to qualify for tomorrow night’s 400m final at the world championships in Berlin.

The teak tough Dubliner was sensational in a hot semi-final that produced four of the eight qualifiers.

Victory went to the defending champion and former Olympic champion, Jeremy Wariner (USA) in 44.69 secs, with Michael Bingham who was born in the US but now represents Great Britain second in 44.74 secs.

Leslie Djhone (France), another Olympic finalist, filled the third place and when Gillick finished fourth in 44.88 secs the long wait began for the fastest qualifiers. The places when to himself and the Frenchman.

Gillick, who broke 45 secs for the first time with a 44.77 sec run in Madrid earlier in the summer and followed that up with 44.82 secs in Rome, ran the race of his life. He was quick away, relaxed up the back straight and came storming through to snatch fourth place from Ramon Millier (Bahamas) on the line.

“I had to get out and run the arse off myself,” he admitted.

“I don’t care what’s going to happen next. I’ve gone out this summer and run the legs off myself, run a national record, run under 45 for the first time and run it for the third time today and got myself in a world championship final.

“I’m in the top eight in the world. I don’t care what lane they give me in the final. I’m just going to go out on Friday and enjoy it.”

He will line up in Lane 2 tomorrow night with Leslie Djhone getting the less favoured Lane 1. Renny Quow (Trinidad) is outside of him with the Olympic champion, LaShawn Merritt in Lane 4 and world champion, Jeremy Wariner in Lane 6.

“With three of us in semi-finals tonight Derval (O’Rourke) was calling it ‘the power hour.’ I’m delighted

Paul Hession was describing himself as the “nearly man” after failing to get through to the final from his semi-final of the 200m.

With the first four in each heat to straight through to the final, he finished sixth in 10.48 secs behind Wallace Spearmon (USA), 20.14, Steve Mullings (Jamaica) 20.26, Charles Clarke (USA) 20.27 and the young Azerbaijan, Ramil Guliyev, 20.28.

“I was two-tenths off making the final, which is more that I thought I would be,” the Athenry man said. “I was shocked that the other American (Charles Clarke) ran so well. He barely qualified out of his heat. And again in the second round. Maybe he was doing things smartly.

“It was everything I had today but it was not enough. It’s very disappointing because I thought this was my year. I really did. I just feel that every year is the same at the moment. They’re all good. Not very good.

“I could have run a better bend. I don’t think I was ever in a good position. But I don’t know what I could have done differently.

“It’s just like Beijing. I did my best. I think this season again I was very good. I’ve come off the track after giving it my best, but still I’m really this disappointed. There were some big dropouts here, and I should have taken my chance.

“I’m just not good enough to make the next step. I think I would almost have gone through in the other semi-final, but that doesn’t matter. This semi-final was a little tougher.

“I didn’t live up to my end. I’m the nearly man still. But I’ll get there eventually.”