AFTER months troubled by hamstring worries, Robert Tobin gave himself the perfect pick-me-up last month when he left Britain's 400 metres record holder Iwan Thomas trailing in his wake at the Loughborough International.

It was an extraordinary result for the Southampton University student, who was a wide-eyed 14-year-old when Thomas was rampaging his way to the European and Commonwealth one-lap crowns in his vintage season of 1998.

With Thomas having upped sticks from his Netley home to try and salvage his injury-hit career in Loughborough, all eyes are on 19-year-old Tobin to become the next quality sprinter to roll off a Hampshire 400m production line that has produced star names like Roger Black, Kriss Akabusi and Tobin's Southampton-based coach Todd Bennett.

Although Thomas is not Tobin's ultimate 400 metres hero (that honour goes, not surprisingly, to American legend Michael Johnson), the charismatic Welshman has set standards the quietly-spoken teenager dreams of following.

Tobin, who this weekend competes in the South of England Championships at Portsmouth's Mountbatten Centre, said: "Iwan's got the British record and you have to respect that.

"Loughborough was the first time I'd ever raced against him and it was exciting to beat him. It was very windy so I went out slowly, but I came home strong and overtook him in the last ten metres."

With both athletes hampered by the stiff breeze, Tobin crossed the line in 48 seconds dead, compared to Thomas's 48.03.

To put the conditions into perspective, Thomas had run a season's best 45.9 in Norway the previous weekend while Tobin had posted his swiftest 2003 mark of 47.09 in Cottbus, Germany.

Basingstoke & Mid Hants man Tobin will be keeping a close eye on the heavens before deciding which event to run at Portsmouth.

If it's windy or wet he will most likely settle for speed practice in the 200m, which brought at silver medal at Watford last year.

But if conditions are good, the management sciences and accounting student will be chasing the 46.8 qualifying mark required for the European Under-23 Championships in Poland next month (July 19/20).

"Hopefully I'll run sub-47 and anything after that will be a bonus," he said. "I've run under 47 seconds three times so far in my career, once indoors and twice outdoors last year."

The hamstring problem that blighted Tobin's World Junior Championship chances in Jamaica last summer have subsided and he said: "I'm going well now and I think I'm over my injuries.

"I'm beginning to feel as good now as I did last season. The speed's coming back and I know I'm stronger than I was last summer. Todd's got me training six days a week now, compared to four last year.

Should Portsmouth fail to deliver, Tobin has two more chances to get his European qualifying time. He will be in action at the AAA Under-23/20 Championships at Bedford next weekend (June 28/29) and has been called up to race for England in Hungary on July 5.

Tobin is one of over 700 competitors - many of them internationals - expected to descend on the Mountbatten Centre for the South of England Championships.

The two-day competition has traditionally been staged at Watford in recent years and Colin Bashford, track and field secretary of the Hampshire AA, said: "It's a tremendous compliment to the county that they've been moved here."