ROBERT Tobin is celebrating after earning Great Britain selection for the European Championships in Gothenburg next month - and the 400m ace is determined to return from Sweden with a medal.

The 22-year-old, who lives in Old Basing, found out on Tuesday that he had secured one of his major 2006 athletics goals when the preliminary GB squad was announced.

Tobin put in a fine showing in the AAA Championships and European trials held recently in Manchester, where he finished third in the 400m final behind winner Tim Benjamin and Martyn Rooney.

Although Britain's leading 400m runners have been struggling with injuries this season, the established names came through the trials with their reputations intact.

Tobin, Benjamin and Graham Hedman, who was fourth in the final, are all in the squad, with the last man yet to be decided upon.

Tobin does not have any gut feeling about who it might be. It will not be Rooney because he is taking part in the World Junior Championships in Beijing, so is unavailable for the Europeans.

But Basingstoke and Mid-Hants star Tobin is delighted he ran well enough, given he's been struggling with an achilles problem, to earn both an individual 400m place and a relay slot in Sweden.

He told The Gazette: "I am very pleased and it feels brilliant. I got a phone call from one of the selectors, John Trower, and he told me I was in."

Tobin (pictured) added: "I think the semi-final proved I am running well and am coming into form. Manchester isn't a particularly quick track - it's a bit soft - but I ran 45.98 and it was the best I have felt for a long, long time."

Tobin, who has had an injury-hit 2006 since the Commonwealth Games in March, ran 46.70sec in his heat, where he said he felt his achilles gave him most grief, to win that race on Saturday, July 15.

In the semi-final later that day, he was second to Benjamin (45.92), who was making his running return after a groin injury.

Drawn in lane three in the final, Tobin ran well and moved up to lead the race between 250m and 350m, but Benjamin's stronger finish and pace in the final 50m of the home straight saw him home first in 46.00sec.

As Tobin faded, 19-year-old Rooney grabbed second in 46.20sec, with the Basingstoke and Mid-Hants man third in 46.35sec to pick up the bronze.

Tobin said: "I was a bit disappointed I didn't win the final.

"I didn't really run the race right and, between 200m and 300m, worked a little bit too hard, so I didn't have enough left for the finish and I was caught.

"But it showed I am in form - and I would sooner be doing things I can learn from now rather than in Gothenburg."

Tobin is excited about his prospects in Sweden, a country where he has never ran before.

"I am going there with the self-belief I can win a medal - individually and in the relay," he said. "That's the way you have to approach big championships."

The final squad - including additional selections for the relay squads - will be unveiled after the London Grand Prix at Crystal Palace on July 28, with selectors having until midnight to submit the team.

Tobin said he hopes to be running at the London meeting as he continues his European Championship preparations.