ONE-LAP sprinter Richard Buck still has sights on an individual spot at this summer’s Olympics despite admitting he may have to settle for a relay place at the World Indoor Championships in Turkey.

The 25-year-old former Pickering schoolboy, who captured European indoor bronze over 400 metres in Paris last season, could only manage third at the Aviva Indoor UK Trials and Championships on Sunday.

He’d had high hopes of getting revenge on champion Nigel Levine in Sheffield, but Levine secured the title again, coming home in 46.28 seconds, and Buck even failed to match last year’s runner-up spot, clocking 47.10 to finish behind Michael Bingham.

Levine is guaranteed a spot on the plane to Turkey but Buck will have to hope his previous form convinces the selectors he is worthy of a place – and already he’s planning for the relay.

“I’m in much better form than I showed in that race. Saturday showed that. I just need some open space to run,” he said.

“No disrespect to third place but I always come into these events to win and in such a strong field anyone could have done it.

“I’m hopeful of getting a shot at the world team so I guess I have to get ready for that but we will have to wait and see now.

“I want to go one better than my European bronze last year and make a world final. Realistically, though, Britain’s 4x400m chances are the best.”

City of York Athletics Club star Buck, who has two European indoor relay silver medals to his name, has earned himself a reputation as an indoor specialist over the years.

But with London 2012 rapidly approaching and with a glaring absence of strength in depth in the British men’s 400m ranks, Buck believes this could be his year on the outdoor track.

“In the summer with just the one lane all the way round, I’ve got the form right, I’ve got the peak right, so I’m in better shape than I’ve been in before,” he said.

“I know that once I get outdoors on a clean track I can do better than I did last year. Indoors has done what it’s supposed to do.”

As for Sunday’s race, Buck, referring to the 200m mark where racers are allowed to leave their lane, said: “I was in a great position at the break, right where I wanted to be.

“I knew Nigel would go for it and it just completely threw me off my rhythm.

“I still felt I could have got back into it, but I couldn’t this time. But it’s indoor racing and when you get into a bad position you can’t just push through a crowd and it’s really frustrating.

“The problem I had is that Nigel just has more speed than I’ve got and if he wanted the break he would be there and he was. If you’re tactically going to let that happen you have to be aware and I just got shut up.”

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