Welsh hurdler Rhys Williams (coach: Dan Pfaff) completed his European Championships campaign in spectacular fashion by winning gold in a new season best time (49.33).

Cardiff AAC's Williams, who won the European Juniors in 2003, achieved another Olympic A standard in the process, putting him in the driving seat for the third 400mH slot in the Team GB squad. The case for Rhys's inclusion in the London team is made stronger by the Welsh hurdler beating rival Nathan Woodward, who could only finish seventh, yet another time this season.

“I feel relief, relief more than anything,” said Williams. “It was 2003 when I won European Juniors – I didn’t think it was a going to take nine years to finally win a senior title so I wanted to make the most of this opportunity.

“I always wanted to come into this championship and just treat it like any other – just go there and try to win.”

Welsh Athletics would like to congratulate Rhys for his great performance, wishing him the best for his qualification to London 2012.