Gillick wins European award

European Athletics have announced that Ireland’s David Gillick and Elvan Abeylegesse of Turkey have been voted as the European Athletes of the Month for February.

Gillick, a two-time European indoor 400m champion, started the indoor season in brilliant fashion by equalling his own two-year-old national 400m record of 45.52 at the UK Grand Prix in Birmingham.

The 26-year-old remains the fastest European over the distance this season.

Abeylegesse, a multiple Olympic and world medallist, made a sparkling Half Marathon debut clocking a course record and world-leading time of 1:07:07 in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The middle-distance runner was a silver medallist in both 5000m and 10000m at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She is now planning to attempt the 5000m and 10000 double at this summer's European Athletics Championships in Barcelona.

Croatian High Jump star Blanka Vlašic once again finished a close runner-up in the women's poll while Turkey’s middle-distance runner Alemitu Bekele, who set a European indoor 5000m record of 14:46.44 in Stockholm, finished third.

Spanish middle-distance star Sergio Sánchez and triple jumper Fabrizio Donato of Italy finished second and third respectively in the men's poll.