Rome first step on road to Paris for Dobson

Charlie Dobson is coached by 2010 Commonwealth Games 200m gold medallist Leon Baptiste

The 400 metres final is one of the blue-riband occasions at any Olympics but it's an event British athlete Charlie Dobson was reluctant to try.

Dobson was part of Great Britain's 4x400m gold medal quartet at the 2022 European Championships, and this weekend he will seek one-lap individual success for the first time.

Two years ago, Dobson - then focused on the 200 metres - was picked as one to watch by former British 400m record-holder Iwan Thomas.

And just last month the 24-year-old underlined his potential by running a personal-best time of 44.46 seconds, setting him up perfectly for the European Championships in Rome.

That time would have been good enough for sixth place in the last Olympic final in Tokyo in 2021.

And if Dobson, from Colchester, does well in the Italian capital, he will then move on to the British trials with a place in this summer's Paris Games the prize on offer.

So why was the former Loughborough University aeronautical engineering student reluctant to switch to the 400 metres?

"When I first moved to Loughborough I hadn’t dreamed of doing the 400 – I hoped I’d never do the 400, it’s a pretty tough event," he told BBC Look East.

"People convinced me to give it a try – I did in 2020, I think, during the Covid year as there were no major championships - and I ran pretty well.

"The way I run – I’ve got quite a long stride that helps a lot with the efficiency of running the 400.

"I think everyone thinks their event is the toughest but it’s one of them, I think the 400 hurdles would be harder - you’ve got to run a 400 and get over hurdles."

Overcoming injury problems

Alex Haydock-Wilson, Lewis Davey, Rio Mitcham and Charlie Dobson won 4x400m relay bronze at last year's World Championships

A few years ago, Dobson was dogged by a number of injury problems and the result is that he takes things day by day, refusing to look too far ahead in terms of career goals.

"I remember Tokyo in 2021, watching the guys racing in the 4x400, and I was rehabbing from another injury," he recalled.

"That was very hard but you can use it to keep yourself going. The important thing is never to rush it - if you rush it, things can go wrong. Patience is a good thing."

Despite that, Dobson admits qualifying for Paris would "mean the world".

He said: "Everyone wants to be an Olympian at some point in their lives. I don’t think I realised I could do it until a couple of years ago. It was quite (a) scary (moment), I don’t think I was prepared for it."

Dobson's hopes of a medal in Rome have been boosted by the withdrawal of British team-mate and reigning champion Matthew Hudson-Smith, who recently set a new European record of 44.07 seconds at the Bislett Games in Oslo.

But Dobson's coach Leon Baptiste believes Hudson-Smith's exploits can help his own charge continue to improve.

"Hopefully those two can push each other to really fast times," said Baptiste.

"At the minute, Matt is a proven athlete, he’s gone to major championships and medalled. He’s in great shape and Charlie is just a little bit off him at the minute.

"I remember Iwan Thomas, Mark Richardson, prior to them Roger Black, really fast athletes pushing each other and if they [Hudson-Smith and Dobson] can do the same, that will be brilliant."

Baptiste knows what it takes to do well on the big stage, having won Commonwealth 200m gold in Delhi in 2010 before switching to coaching four years later - and he believes Dobson has medal chances.

"He’s got huge potential and the main thing now is to stay focused, minimise all the distractions, and all the stresses, that can potentially be there and just go there and execute a good race when he’s called upon," Baptiste said.

"At the minute he’s ranked third in Europe. The most important thing is getting to the final. Get to the final and then the aim will definitely be to medal.

"For someone like Charlie, who hasn’t had any experience of running a 400 at a major championships - he’s normally done relay - it’s really important for him and his development and if he does well there, take that experience into the British Championships and then the Olympics."

Only when a place in the GB team for Paris is secured will it be time, according to Baptiste, "to start re-evaluating what your goals might be" in terms of the Olympics.

That's a view Dobson fully agrees with - an analytical approach reflecting his five years around a university campus.

"Charlie is incredibly smart and it’s good for him, studying and using that side of his brain because you need a bit of a distraction from time to time," Baptiste added.

"Charlie likes to go through the finer details and I think that’s helped in his career."

Interview by BBC Look East's Jonathan Park