ATHLETICS: Ian O'Riordan talks to David Gillick ahead of Saturday's National Track and Field Championships

So what's been going on with David Gillick? A year and a half after he won that European indoor gold in Madrid, landing himself on the doorstep of fame and fortune, some are wondering why he's gone all quiet.

It may be worth noting here the only thing that seems to matter in Irish athletics anymore is someone winning a medal in a major championship. And Gillick is evidence of that. Until he comes out and wins another medal the question of what's going on with David Gillick won't go away.

Anyhow. What's going on with him this week is that he's at home in his parents' house in Ballinteer, where he still lives, avoiding the sunshine like a contagion and concentrating on training for this weekend's national championships in Santry. He may hold the European indoor 400-metre title, but Gillick has yet to win the Irish outdoor title - another reminder of just how unexpected was his win in Madrid in March 2005.

And the fact is he's had anything but a quiet summer. He's been racing all across Europe - Salamanca, Banska, Zaragoza. He raced in Cork. And in Geneva last month he lowered his personal best to 45.80 seconds. None of which seemed to be noticed.

"Athletics is a funny sport," he says. "One day your up, and the next day your down. What happened to David Gillick? I know myself people are saying that. I just feel like saying, 'Hang on a minute.'

"Unfortunately it's only the major championships that get any coverage, and so people are asking you where you are. They just don't realise what else is going on. I was 21 when I won the gold medal in Madrid, and I've just turned 23. I suppose I just never thought of all the expectation that came with that success.

"Last summer was definitely tough. I hit a bit of a low, then I got injured. And suddenly I had all this expectation on top of that. I know some people where saying okay, he's won a European medal, now he can go and win a world medal. That was tough to handle.

"I know, and you probably know, that there's a huge difference between a European and a world medal, but most people didn't seem to realise that."

Part of the problem - Gillick admits - is the pressure he puts on himself. He was determined to finish out his degree at DIT this year. He took a chance on competing at the World Indoors in Moscow in March even though he hadn't raced, and ended up bombing. Financially too he's far from secure and yet he's determined as ever to make a lasting name for himself in 400-metre running - starting with the European championships in Gothenburg next month.

"I definitely rode a storm last summer, and got through it. And I'm happy that I'm at least running consistently at the moment, all around the low-46 seconds. I know I'll need to get down more for Gothenburg, but the training has been going well, and I do believe I'm packing a punch.

"I ran my best of 45.80 in my second race, so I was confident of building on that, and maybe getting close to a 45.5. In a way I though I started chasing times, putting pressure on myself to run faster, which is something I have to get out of. You have to run your races without thinking of the end result, and for the last few races I was thinking too much about what I needed to run, instead of going out and just competing, trying to win."

"I also know there are a lot of aspects of my training that I can improve on. The little things like nutrition. But I've put another 12 months of solid training behind me, and I finished my degree at DIT on top of that. So I'm looking forward to the next few years. I feel there is a lot of scope to improve."

His 45.80 ranks him 11th in Europe, with eight places in the final in Gothenburg. After that, as they say, anything can happen.

"Yeah, making the final is the least of my ambitions. That was the aim at the start of the year. The rankings are funny though. Two guys are ahead of everyone, and then a lot of us between 45.4 and 45.8. The only difference there is a good run."

But maybe that's getting ahead of himself again.

One thing certain though is that he has time on his side.

"I want to give it my full commitment for the next few years at least. I don't want to look back and say I should have done this or that. It is a struggle sometimes, with the added pressure that you have to perform to stay on the grants scheme. And I sense sometimes that people are looking at me as if I've made a mint from this. No way. Maybe if I won Olympic gold."