ROBERT Tobin heads into the weekend's Hampshire AA Track & Field Championships buoyed by a new 400 metres personal best - and the belief of his coach, Todd Bennett, that he can make the Olympic relay squad.
After nearly two years of trying, the 20-year-old Southampton University student has finally lowered his previous best of 46.80 seconds set at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Manchester in June 2002.
Having limbered up with a 46.88 run in France, Tobin, pictured above, came good with a 46.71 win at Oxford University's Iffley Road track last week in a meeting to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Sir Roger Bannister's four-minute mile.
With former Southampton resident Iwan Thomas still struggling to recapture the form that won him the European and Commonwealth one-lap titles in his glorious golden summer of 1998, British 400 metres running has been in the doldrums in recent years.
Cardiff's European under-23 silver medallist Tim Benjamin is the pick of Britain's young guns, but Bennett - a former world indoor 400m record holder - reckons Basingstoke & Mid Hants youngster Tobin has the talent to capitalise on Britain's one-lap malaise.
He said: "If Robert runs as well as I believe he can, I think an Olympic relay place is a possibility, especially as the 400m isn't as strong as it once was in Britain.
"The golden age of people like Roger Black has gone. It's looking very dire at junior level at the moment. No one outstanding has come through for the past few years."
Bennett's other hope for a relay spot in Athens is Team Solent's Melanie Purkiss, who won 4x400m silver with England at the Commonwealth Games two years ago.
The 25-year-old, whose 52.99 pb dates back to July 2002, has yet to run outdoors this summer, but was boosted by a 53.52 indoor time - faster than she ran at any stage last year.
According to the coach, Tobin and Purkiss are training better than ever.
He explained: "We've changed things round a bit and brought in a lot more endurance work and the whole group's benefitting from it. It's steady endurance, not to the extreme where they're always tired.
"But training and racing are two different things and I just hope that Rob and Mel don't leave their form on the training track and that they can go out and produce.
"Rob's had a really encouraging start and Mel is leaps and bounds better in training than she was last year. We'll have to wait and see but I believe she can run a lot faster than she has done."
Once again entries are looking healthy for the two-day Hampshire track and field feast with around 700 athletes expected to take part.
While other counties continue to struggle for numbers, Hampshire are not only maintaining interest from their own officials and athletes but are getting people in from further afield too.
Colin Bashford, the Hampshire Track & Field Championship secretary, reflected: "We seem to be doing everything right."
Competition begins at 10am on both days. The women's 400m heats start at 11.50am on Saturday followed by the final at 2pm, while the men's heats get under way at 11.10am on Sunday and the final is scheduled for 4.05pm.
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