ATHLETICS/European Championships: He said himself he's not one to make excuses but, deep down, David Gillick must realise he froze. Ian O'Riordan reports from Gothenburg

With the stage set for an Irishman to make the European 400-metre final for the first time, the pressure, it seems, got to him.

That may sound harsh, and yet Gillick was harsh on himself.

"A bad run," he said. "Just let myself down. All I can say is I'll learn a lot from that. I never want to feel like this again, never want to let that happen again."

There was simply no hiding the disappointment when the young Dubliner trailed home at the wrong end of his semi-final. His time: 46.84 seconds. His best: 45.67. If he'd managed to repeat that best Gillick would have made it through.

Then, as if on cue, Deirdre Ryan revived Irish spirits with a sensational display in her qualifying group of the high jump. In clearing 1.92 metres she automatically booked her place in Friday's final - equalling her national record in the process and, unlike Gillick, making history; no Irishwoman had ever made that European final.

Her achievement is doubly impressive considering this time last year Ryan's left ankle was in a cast, the result of a cartilage tear that threatened her career.

It wasn't quite straightforward yesterday. She failed twice at 1.90, but after clearing that she eased over 1.92 on the first attempt and with plenty to spare.

And the 24-year-old from Dublin is already thinking of going higher: "I did put a bit of pressure on myself, but I think the fact that I failed twice at 1.90 actually helped. I just adjusted my technique a little. My hips were too low and I was over-striding a bit. So once I cleared that, I felt very confident about getting the 1.92. And I think there is more there, hopefully in the final. I'd like to get 1.95 in the near future, but a top-eight place in the final would be nice."

For Gillick, the dream of a European final continues. He was well over a second behind the winner of his semi-final, Leslie Djhone of France, who ran 45.23.

Britain's Tim Benjamin took the fourth and last qualifying spot, running 45.67.

Gillick was seventh, looking utterly flat in the home stretch.

"I think I was a little apprehensive, a little tense, going out there," he added. "But I felt fine warming up. Fast, and light. And this is where I wanted to be, running on big occasions like this.

"But Benjamin went out very fast and came up to me very quick. By then Djhone had opened up about a metre on me. Maybe that surprised me a little. And maybe I lacked a bit of that spark."

At 23, though, Gillick can only get faster, stronger and more confident in the coming years. His European indoor title last year was no fluke. He has the talent, and his countdown to the 2010 championships starts here.

Despite Gillick's disappointment, there's increasing hope that Joanne Cuddihy will become the first Irishwoman to make a European 400-metre final since Maeve Kyle in 1962. Earlier yesterday, the Kilkenny woman ran superbly to finish second in her heat to Russia's Olga Zaitseva - the fastest woman in the world this year - who clocked 50.89.

Cuddihy ran 51.42, just outside her best, 51.28, and comfortably secured her semi-final spot - ranked fifth-fastest overall. She also earned a prime lane draw for the second of this evening's two semi-finals. The top four in each go on to tomorrow's final.

"My big aim now is to break the Irish record," she said, referring to the 51.07 set by Karen Shinkins seven years ago. "That's in my control. Whether I make the final or not depends on how the other girls run. But I'm in a better lane, feeling good. So we'll see."

The 22-year-old has a great reputation for emptying herself on the track, and she understandably struggled up the wooden exit ramp toward the mixed zone.

"I felt fine there until the end, where we had to climb over Mount Everest there to get into the media zone," she said. "That's when I really started to hurt.

"But the heats are always such a big psychological hurdle. Once you get through them you can relax. But I was really, really nervous out there."

Ireland had two other sprinters in action yesterday. Anna Boyle finished fifth in her 100-metre heat and failed to progress.

Emily Maher was entered for the same event but didn't even make it onto the blocks. She suffered a hamstring strain and withdrew before the start.