"I am feeling hopeful," says Halifax's Burgin as he targets European Athletics Championships glory
Halifax’s Max Burgin hopes he has shaken off the virus which ruined his Commonwealth Games chances as he targets European glory in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old won his men’s 800m heat on the opening morning at the Alexander Stadium, clocking 1:45.80 to advance into Wednesday night’s semi-finals.
Burgin exited at the same stage in Glasgow but now feels in better shape as he bids for an upturn in fortunes.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this,” he said.
“I have felt pretty rough the past week or so and haven't managed to do too much running at all. The bits I have done haven’t inspired much confidence.
“But I had a good pre-race stride session at the weekend, and I was feeling a bit better in myself.
“I went into the heat just thinking I'd approach it a bit more conservatively, with more traditional tactics, but it ended up being a lot faster than the Commonwealth Games heat.
“It went well, and I was happy with how I ran it. I'm happy with my kick finish – it’s always good to know I've still got one, as I don't often get any use out of it.
“It was a good run out, and I’m looking forward to the semis.”
Burgin returned to training last Tuesday after his illness, only to endure an ‘awful’ first session back in spikes two days later.
But having come through his opening race of the week unscathed, the Olympic finalist feels he has more to give as he bids to become the first British men’s 800m European champion since 1990.
“I don’t actually know what it was, I just came down with the symptoms, saw the doctor, he did an examination and told me I had a virus,” he said.
“He told me to take three or four days off, which I did, but when I got back into running after that, it still felt rough. It was making me feel worse. It just sort of dragged on for a bit longer than I thought.
“But I feel good now and I haven't been sick, which is always a good indicator that I've got something left. I am feeling hopeful for the rest of the week.”
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