BASINGSTOKE’S Rob Tobin insisted Great Britain’s 4x400m relay team were bullied out of gold medal contention after being forced to settle for silver at the European Championships in Sunday August 1.
The 26-year-old, who helped Britain claim silver at the World Championships in Berlin last year, struggled to handle the shrugging match during the third leg at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona.
Tobin was desperate to pass the baton on to European individual 400m bronze medallist and anchor leg runner Martyn Rooney with as little daylight as possible between himself and the Russian team.
But after being forced to run the majority of the race in the second lane, the Basingstoke & Mid Hants AC sprinter admitted he left his team-mate with too much to do. “We are disappointed – we came here to win gold and Great Britain has a real tradition of 4x400m men winning medals and gold ones at that,” said Tobin, who joined forces with Conrad Williams, Michael Bingham and Rooney in Barcelona.
“It was a really physical race and in all honesty I was just trying to get Rooney in the right place to have a go for the gold medal. I was running in lane two pretty much all the way around – I just couldn’t get into lane one.
“We knew we had a strong team so in the end I think we are a bit disappointed with the silver and we were disappointed we couldn’t add to the tradition. Considering what had happened with my injuries, I was delighted we managed to get the silver though.”
Russia claimed a surprise gold thanks to a strong final leg from rising star Vladimir Krasnov to finish in 3:02.14minutes – 0.11 head of Great Britain and 0.46 clear of Belgium in third.
And after battling back from a late calf injury scare to take his place in the final four,
“The calf was a lot better for the final, the physios have done a magnificent job in getting me out on the track.
“I didn’t even feel it in warm up so it was never really a problem. I didn’t cause me problems during the race but it was just a really tough fight out there.”
Aviva’s support, both at home and abroad, is helping the team prepare to compete at their best. Watch the Aviva GB & NI Team live in action at the Aviva London Grand Prix. For more details visit aviva.co.uk/athletics
