ROBERT Tobin has got himself out of the "comfort zone" just in time to stake his claim for a 4x400 metres relay berth in Athens.

That's the belief of Tobin's coach Todd Bennett, who feels the 20-year-old Southampton University student is more tactically astute than he's ever been going into the weekend's AAA Championships/Olympic Trials in Manchester.

Just a fortnight ago Tobin, a member of the Basingstoke & Mid Hants club, lowered his personal best for the third time this season at the AAA Under-23 championships, striking gold with a Championship best of 46.29 seconds.

He went off purposefully behind Inter-Counties champion Conrad Williams of Kent AC and reeled his rival in around the final bend before powering down the home straight to win by about six metres.

Bennett, a former world indoor 400m record holder, said: "Rob finally started to run the event right at the under-23s and he got his rewards by going nearly half a second quicker.

"Previously he'd been going off too conservatively and coming down the home straight like an express train, which is not the way to run a 400 metres.

"When you're in a world-class field, you can't give your rivals ten metres at the 300m mark and then expect to catch them at 400m. It doesn't work like that.

"Rob was easily capable of running between 46.6 and 46.9 and he'd got himself into a bit of a comfort zone. We've worked on that in training and it paid off in his last race."

Although Tim Benjamin and Daniel Caines have already achieved the individual Olympic qualifying time of 45.55, competition for the Athens relay remains wide open.

Jamie Baulch, Sean Baldock, Matt Elias and Jared Deacon are all on the fringes as is former Southampton resident Iwan Thomas, but the 1998 European and Commonwealth champion is again struggling with injury.

Bennett, the British senior 400m event coach, admitted: "The state of 400m running in Britain isn't great at the moment, so I've got to say that if Rob gets it right this weekend, then he stands a good chance of getting into the Olympic squad. If he does, it will be a great experience for him."

The same applies to Tobin's Otterbourne-based training partner Melanie Purkiss, who has hit her best form for two years going into the Olympic Trials.

The 25-year-old Team Solent athlete won a good battle with Lesley Owusu to win the South of England title at Watford, clocking 53.05 - her fastest time since striking 4x400m silver for England at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

Bennett, who has just returned with his group from warm-weather training in Portugal, said: "Mel's training indicates she's capable of going a second quicker than that, but training and racing are two different things. Donna Fraser and Lee McConnell have got the Olympic qualifying time, but after that there are about five athletes ranging between 51.9 and Mel at 53 seconds. If Mel does what she's capable of, she should be in with a chance."

The Isle of Wight's Kelly Sotherton has already booked her ticket to Athens in the heptathlon - but the 27-year-old all-rounder is not content to stop there.

Sotherton jumped 6.68 metres at the European Cup earlier this summer - just two centimetres short of the Olympic A qualifying standard - and will be out to ruffle the feathers of British number one Jade Johnson in Manchester.

* Team Solent middle distance man Angus Maclean finished 11th at last weekend's Cork international meet in Ireland, clocking 3.47.47.