Gillick stays on course

Ireland's David Gillick stayed on course to retain his European Indoor 400 metres title in Birmingham this evening by battling past British sprinter Robert Tobin to win his semi-final.

The 23-year-old Dubliner, who struck gold in Madrid two years ago, powered off the last bend to just pip Tobin to first place in a time of 46.16 seconds and score a psychological blow over one of his main rivals.

Tobin (46.19 secs) blazed straight to the front for the first lap and showed considerable strength, when the two went shoulder to shoulder, to hold off the taller Gillick before the last bend, but the Irishman just had the edge in the closing 10 metres to grab first.

Speaking afterwards at trackside, Gillick said: "That was okay. Robert and I go back a long way but it was still important to win the semi-final for the lane draw.

"Maybe I should have gone a little quicker but overall I'm happy. I'm ready and looking forward to the final."

Tobin, who is the reigning European Under-23 champion, admitted: "It was a bit of a fight around the last bend but I wanted to keep it tight. My plan was to try and lead the semi-final all the way.

"I fell asleep once on the first lap and again on the second lap. I will make sure that does not happen in the final. I'm feeling better after every race and I'm now really looking forward to the final."

That final takes place tomorrow afternoon at 4.20pm, with powerful German Bastian Swillims seemingly the main threat to Gillick. He scored a personal best in the other semi-final, winning it in a time of 45.92 seconds.