IT was a case of ‘job done’ for Colchester sprinter Charlie Dobson after he became UK champion and booked his place at this summer’s Paris Olympics.

The Colchester Harriers ace produced a sparkling performance to win men’s 400 metres gold at the Microplus UK Athletics Championships in Manchester, sealing his place at the Games.

Dobson said: “I had one job to do today and that was to run the race and qualify for Paris.

“There will hopefully be a couple more races before Paris and I will definitely try and fit one more in.

“The preparations coming in were the same as any other race; I was totally focused on the job.

 

“I was focused on my lane and my race with one goal in mind and I’ve done that.”

Dobson, proudly wearing his Colchester Harriers green vest, showed he is very much a global contender with another superb performance as he took British 400m gold.

The 24-year-old, coached by Leon Baptiste, was pushed hard early on by the reigning champion Alex Haydock-Wilson, on an unseasonably chilly final day at the British Olympic trials event.

However, Dobson kept something in reserve for the final 150m as he found another gear to storm clear down the home straight.

His winning time of 44.56 is a stadium record and he is now preparing for the Olympics/ Having made the early hard running, Haydock-Wilson was reeled in by Ben Jeffries’ personal best run of 45.63, with Haydock-Wilson left to settle for bronze in 45.92.

(Image: DAVID DAVIES/PA)

Dobson’s brilliant performance follows hot on the heels of his silver at the European Athletics Championships, in Rome, where he ran a new personal best time of 44.38 seconds, more than half a second quicker than his previous best time.

It lifted Dobson from number 22 to number six on the UK all-time rankings.

The Paris Olympics get underway on July 26.