 Paul McKee described the officiating in Gothenburg as a joke |
Paul McKee failed to progress to the semi-finals of the 400 metres at the European Championships in Gothenburg after finishing fifth in his heat. The Belfast runner ran a time of 46.48 seconds in heat one which was won by Frenchman Leslie Djhone from Daniel Dabrowski and Claudio Licciardello.
David Gillick will run in Tuesday's semi-finals after finishing second in heat two in a time of 46.16.
David McCarthy drops out after running a season's best 46.53 in heat four.
McKee, drawn in lane nine for his heat, would have needed to run 46.36 to qualify for the semi-finals - a time .40secs slower than his best time this season.
The Belfastman, hugely disappointed by his run, hit out at "joke officiating" after the race.
"It was a disaster run from the start. They had no blocks for lane nine and when the eventually brought them, the heptathlete girls doing the high jump kept standing in lane nine," McKee told BBC Sport.
 | I lost all focus and ran the least focused race of my life |
"Eunice Barber stood between me and my blocks after the call for on your marks was made.
"I asked the officials to move them but they were rubbish.
"I lost all focus and ran the least focused race of my life."
Of the other Irish athletes in action, 1500m runner Liam Reale was the lone hopeful to progress.
Reale claimed the fourth and last faster loser's spot after finishing eighth in the second 1500m semi-final in 3:41.97.
In the first slower semi-final, James Nolan was prominent for most of the race but he dropped back alarmingly in the final lap to finish 14th in 3:49.94 - 2.82 seconds behind heat winner favourite Ivan Hesko.
Eileen O'Keeffe performed creditably in the women's hammer qualifying but her best effort of 65.08 left her 17th overall, and outside the 12 qualifiers for the final.
400 metres hurdler Michelle Carey was the first Irish athlete in action but she failed to make it beyond the heats after recording a time of 57.61.
In the final event of the day, Marie Davenport finished a disappointing 22nd in the 10,000m final with her time of 33:05.48 over one and a half minutes outsider her personal best.
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