Mixed fortunes for medallist Levine
Published 11 Mar 2011 09:30
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Nigel Levine (far right) part of the GB silver medal winning relay team.
Athletics
WINDSOR sprinter Nigel Levine admitted he will leave the European Indoor Championships full of regrets despite collecting 4x400m silver in Paris last weekend.
The 21-year-old Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC runner set the British quartet on their way on Sunday night before compatriot and individual 400m bronze medallist Richard Buck came home in second to secure Great Britain's eighth medal of the competition.
It ensured a happy ending for Levine, who was fuming after getting his tactics all wrong in his individual semi-final and failing to make the final despite arriving in Paris as a gold medal contender, having clocked a personal best of 46.17 seconds in Birmingham last month.
But while Levine's relay performance means the 4x400m world indoor bronze medallist's tournament has a silver lining - Levine remains convinced it should have been a golden weekend in the French capital.
"We came out here believing we could win the relay and it is a bit of a shame to come second," said Levine who saw France trump Great Britain to gold.
"The atmosphere was quite lively there and it gave the guys from France an advantage over us but 2012 will be a completely different ball game."
Meanwhile, sprint hurdler Lawrence Clarke admitted that pressure got the better of him in Paris, but insists it will be a different story at this summer's European Under-23 Championships.
The 20-year-old, who collected Commonwealth Games bronze over 110m last October, could only manage fourth in his semi-final in 7.74 seconds and as a result headed for the exit.
And Clarke, who is an heir to a baronetcy, revealed he will put his performance down to experience - even if UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee does not advise it.
"I don't have the experience and I'm a bit too young. It's only my second senior international and I didn't prepare for the indoors the way I should have because I went to the Commonwealth Games," said Clarke.
"Apparently Charles van Commenee has said that no experience is better than a bad experience but I think it's been really good for me here and I think it's brought me down to earth a little.
"My aim for this season has always been the European Under-23 Championships. I never really thought about this because it wasn't really on the radar so the under-23s is the big one for me.
"So if I could come in the medals that would be a great achievement."
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This article appeared in Royal Borough Observer 11 Mar 11
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