The Ravensbourne School student, from Thamesmead, cracked the qualifying mark for the 200m in Mannheim, Germany today (Sunday 3rd) as he clocked 21.18s to win the annual international gala meet.
"It was far from a great run," said coach John Powell, "but it was good enough to slip inside the UKA qualifying mark of 21.25s. Now we would expect - and hope - that David is selected for the 100m and 200m in Tallin.
"There is bags more in the tank - David arrived back in London with a cold, so he has obviously not been 100 per cent. I would certainly expect well inside 21 seconds in the Europeans even though he could end up with eight races in five days."
David will have the 100m heats semi-finals and final on the first two days, and the heats of the 200m come immediately after the 100m final. Then semi's and final follow on day three with heats and final of the sprint relay after that.
"I fully expect David to come home with three European medals," added John. "It's going to be very tough, but I have every confidence in him."
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| David mounts the rostrum as 200m winner in Mannheim. Britain's Sam Watts (right) was second, and the fastest junior in Europe from France third |
The European Junior Championships begin in Tallin on July 21st, and the trials for the World Championships are at the end of the month in Birmingham. There, James Ellington will fully expect to be in the mix for selection to the team travelling to Korea in August.
"We're going great guns at the moment," said John Powell, "but there's absolutely no room for complacency. It's foot on the gas all the way now, and in a month's time let's just hope this really does turn into our best year ever!"
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