Gillick wins 400m gold

David Gillick out-gunned home favourite David Canale to power home to 400 metres gold tonight in Madrid, and Ireland's first ever male sprint medal at the European Indoor Championships.

The 21-year-old Dubliner - already Scottish champion this year - clocked 46.30 seconds in a barmstorming run, as he out-muscled third-placed Russian Sebastian Gatzka (46.88) on the final bend and overtook blocky Spaniard Canale (46.64) in the closing metres for a famous victory.

A bronze medallist with the Irish 4x400m relay team at last year's World Indoors, Gillick - competing for the first time in a major Championships individually - was claiming Ireland's fourth European Indoor medal in the last five years.

While James Nolan (1500m, 2000) and Karen Shinkins (400m, 2002) bagged silver and bronze respectively, Leevale's Mark Carroll (3000m) was the country's last winner back in 2000.