MARTYN ROONEY has been granted permission to defend his European 400m title in Amsterdam this summer.
Rooney won the European Championship gold in Zurich two years ago but was under the impression that he would not get the chance to defend his crown due to British Athletics’ selection policy, which states track athletes selected for Rio would not be eligible to compete in Amsterdam unless performance director Neil Black deemed it beneficial for their Olympic preparation.
After racing at the Loughborough International meet in May the 29-year-old said his Netherlands-based coach Rana Reider requested his athletes be allowed to compete at the championships from July 6-10 and that Rooney’s request was rejected due to the close proximity of the British trials, at which he will run three times.