Gregan is pleased with World Championship performance
BRIAN Gregan just missed out on a place in the 400m Final at the World Athletics Championships in London after finishing sixth in a time of 45.42
The Tallaght man was drawn in what was deemed the much harder semi-final, as it contained the bulk of the medal favourites, including the eventual gold medal winner Wayde Van Niekerk of South Africa.
Gregan was in fine form coming into the semi-final after finishing third in his previous heat with a time of 45.37s, which was just 11 hundredths of a second off the personal best he set in Morton Stadium just a few weeks back.
To underline just how competitive the semi-final race was, Gregan finished ahead of Olympic bronze medallist LaShawn Merritt.
While any athlete would be disappointed to not make a World Champion-ship Final, Gregan will still be very happy at his time of 45.42 seconds, which left him in sixth place, just outside a qualifying berth for the final.
“I ran my second and third fastest times, so I’ve got to be pleased with my performance,” Gregan told The Echo.
“I was up against the best athletes in the world. I was ranked 29th coming into these championships and I finished 19th.
“Now walking away from this competition, I’m really full of confidence. I was one of the top Europeans and I honestly feel that, on my day, I can beat any one of them and that’s massive,” he said.
Given his riveting performances at the World Championships, and displays in various international meets this summer, the Tallaght man has shown that he has the potential to make the podium at the European Athletics Championships in Berlin a year from now.
Gregan will be in action for his club Clonliffe Harriers in the National League Final on August 20.
Also competing for Ireland in the World Championships was Rath-farnham’s Seán Hehir, who finished in 63rd place in the Men’s Marathon with a time of 2 hours 27 minutes.
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