ATHLETICS: Derval O'Rourke secured a bronze medal in the 60m final at the European Indoor Championships in Turin but defending 400m champion David Gillick is out after a collision in his semi-final. The Dubliner, who was attempting to become the first athlete in 30 years to win three consecutive titles, contested the result but officials have ruled it should stand.
Despite a season’s best of 7.97seconds, O’Rourke always looked second best to eventual winner Eline Berings of Belgium, though there may be a tinge of disappointment after she was edged into third on the line by Czech sprinter Lucie Skrobáková.
Nevertheless, it's a big result for the Cork woman for whom the last two years have been frustrating to say the least.
Gillick was comfortable in third with 80 metres to go, but he came off second best from a bit of a shoving match with Romanian Ioan Vieru in second. He fell to the ground and though he picked himself up, he finished way behind the field in a time of one minute 37.01 seconds.
Vieru remained second behind Johann Wissmann of Sweden, while Richard Buck of Great Britain claimed the third place in the final.
Gillick was furious after the race, insisting he was the victim of foul play. The indoor 400m is notoriously physical, however, and the chance of a successful appeal was always slim.
The Dubliner's fall allowed Buck to move into third and the Briton said afterwards he anticipated trouble and avoided the congestion.
“I think the Romanian was out of order on the top bend, it looked like an elbow but as soon as I saw Gillick coming up on his shoulder I read the warning signs and stayed out of the way,” he said.
David McCarthy was eighth quickest in the opening exchanges of the 800 metres, after finishing fourth in a fast heat. His time of one minute 49.59 seconds sees him into tomorrow's semi-final, scheduled for 3.30pm, Irish time.
Roisin McGettigan also made the final of the 1,500m as faster runner up. McGettigan finished in a time of 4.12.25 and will line up in tomorrow’s final.
Pole vaulter Zoe Brown will not be involved in tomorrow's final after she missed three attempts at the qualfication height of four metres 25 centimetres.
In the women’s 400m Brona Furlong and Marian Andrews were both eliminated at the semi-final stage after running personal bests to qualify this morning.
Andrews set another personal milestone of 53.92secs in the semi-final but it was not enough for her to emerge from a strong field.
Furlon was four hundredths of a second behind her in fourth. The Russian pair of Antonina Krivoshapka (51.59 secs) and Natalya Antyukh (52.90 secs) finished first and second respectively, while Britain’s Donna Fraser was third in a time of 53.59 secs.
Earlier, Kelly Proper came through the women's long jump qualifiers to reach the final. She set a new national record of 6.59m, improving her previous best of 6.44m.