OLI Bromby finalised his preparations for the European Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy, with a convincing performance at the Mannheim Junior Gala.

The Southampton AC sprint ace won his 100 metres heat in his second fastest ever time of 10.34 seconds before waiving a place in the final to concentrate on his GB relay duties.

Admitting to being a little tired, having re-entered a training block after clocking a lifetime best (10.31) in the trial race at Bedford, Bromby agreed that he had “forced it” a bit at the 60m mark and lost his rhythm slightly.

However, the 19-year-old from Shirley was happy to be running consistent 10.3 times.

The clear European leader, Italian Fillipo Tortu, last year's World Junior Championships silver medallist with 10.15, will be a daunting prospect in front of a home crowd in Grosseto.

Behind Tortu, the rankings are tightly packed with strong German and Finnish competition along with the three British representatives - Bromby, Dominic Ashwell and World Junior finalist Rechmial Miller.

“It is very tight,” said Bromby’s coaches Sara and Gary MacDonald-Gray.

“A medal is a definite prospect for Oli but, there again, on the day, anything in the top half dozen is the most precise prediction anyone can give.

“But his performances are on a different level this year.”

The Championships run from July 20-23 with the 100m final on Thursday 21. The relay heats follow towards the end of the week.