Gillick grabs second place in Budapest

Two-time European indoor champion David Gillick equalled his season's best of 45.32 when finishing second in tonight's 400 metres at the European Team Championships 1st League competition in Budapest.

Gillick came home trailing Jonathan Borlee of Belgium (44.99 seconds), as he continues to build towards the European Championships in Barcelona in five weeks' time.

The Dubliner's run earned some valuable points for the Ireland team as they try to consolidate their position in the 1st League.

The most notable of the Irish results so far was Jason Smyth's win in the 100m, which saw him beat former European champions Francis Obikwelu into second place.

Smyth, who has a personal best of 10.32, timed 10.27 seconds but had an illegal wind of 2.4 m/s behind him, ruling out any records.

The Derry star's brilliant run secured 12.5 points for the Ireland team, moving them from eleventh up to seventh in the 12-team league ladder.

Kildare's Clare Brady continued her impressive development with a fourth place finish in her 100m race. Along with two other athletes, she clocked 11.64 seconds - four-hundredths away from her personal best.

Meath man Kourosh Foroughi set a new personal best in the high jump, adding on two centimetres to his previous top mark to clear 2.20m, while Mullingar's Mark Christie gained second spot in the 5000m in a time of 13 minutes, 49.77 seconds.

Explaining that team members are 'fighting for every point', Ireland manager Patsy McGonagle said: "We are delighted with the performance of the athletes without exception."

The event continues tomorrow in Budapest, with the Irish hoping to finish tenth or better in order to avoid relegation back to the 2nd League.

Ireland sit in eighth position overnight on a total of 130.5 points, five points behind the seventh-placed Dutch. The Czech Republic are clear in first (201.5 points) with Portugal (165) and Sweden (161) completing the top three.