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British hunt for gold continues

09/08/2006

Britain's hunt for a first gold medal at the European Championships continues as Tim Benjamin and Tasha Danvers-Smith both finished well down the field in their finals.

Benjamin has struggled for much of this season with injuries but, when fit, would have been one of Britain's best hopes for gold.

However, running from lane one in the men's 400m final, he could only manage sixth as France's Marc Raquil claimed the title.

"I would have won the race if it hadn't been for my injury problems," Benjamin said.

"I need to rectify those problems but you'll see how I'll rebound from this."

Meanwhile, Danvers-Smith continued her comeback season with a seventh-place finish in the women's 400m hurdles.

The race was won Russia's Yevgeniya Isakova, who edged out Olympic champion Fani Halkia of Greece in the final stages in a personal best time of 53.93secs.

However, the British athlete was hopeful for the future after spending some time out of the sport to give birth to her son.

"I'm very disappointed but, at the same time, proud that I made it this far," Danvers-Smith said.

"This season has been like one long training session with the Commonwealth Games starting in March but I'm still positive for the future."

In the men's 1500m, Andy Baddeley finished sixth as Mehdi Baala of France retained his title.

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