Charlie Dobson secures the consecutive British titles with a dominant victory in 400m

Colchester athlete Charlie Dobson has retained his 400m British title with a dominant performance at the Birmingham British Championships.

The 25-year-old, who is an Olympic medalist and is classified second in the United Kingdom for the 400m this year, led a measured race before expanding his competitors in the house directly to stop the chronometer at 45.36 seconds.

He has already managed the qualification standard for the world athletics championships this year in Tokyo, and his victory at the national championships is effectively guaranteed a place in the British team.

The United Kingdom No. 1 Matt Hudson -Smith – which Dobson beat in London Diamond League last month – did not contribute because he received a compassionate exemption.

Now based in Loughborough, Dobson said that after the race, it was confident to run less than 44 seconds – a moment that would put him in the running for a medal in Japan in September.

In an interview on track with the former holder of the British record Iwan Thomas, Dobson said: “I hoped a little faster.

“The work is done, but it’s a bit windy also on this right back.”

When asked if he could run less than 44 seconds, he said: “Sub44? Absolutely.”

Dobson trained in Colchester Harriers and took the money at 200m at the Junior World Championships in 2018.

He moved to the University of Loughborough the same year and switched to 400m in 2021 when he finished the season classified in the United Kingdom No. 1.

Since then, he has won medals at the European Championships, the World Championships and the Olympic Games.

He continued: “It is always incredible to run in front of a crowd at home, especially here in Birmingham, and winning two titles in the United Kingdom is really special.

“I definitely have a sub44 in my legs, I just need to adjust the race on the right.

“It was not ideal conditions today, I do not know if people felt it in the stadium, but it was really windy in your right back, which withdraws it a lot, so it was a big obstacle for all of us, and had an impact on everyone’s time.

“I didn’t expect something crazy, it was just about doing the job.”