The Executive Board received an update on the current preparations from the LOC, which reported that their work has been severely compromised by France’s national shutdown of non-essential activities in response to the worldwide coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

While preparations for Paris 2020 continue fully as planned and according to schedule, a study of possible alternative scenarios for hosting was requested, including potential postponement, and taking into account all the stakeholder opinions including those of partners, athletes as well as related national and local government authorities in France.

France and the Ile de France region around Paris have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic.

In the absence of President Svein Arne Hansen, unable to take part due to health issues, the meeting was led by Dobromir Karamarinov, European Athletics First Vice President and interim President.

“European Athletics and the entire athletics family remain close to Svein Arne and his family in this challenging time and we wish him all the very best for a full recovery.

“It is clear we are currently living in unprecedented times that require us to be flexible, open-minded and realistic. Above all, the health and safety of the athletes, officials, fans, volunteers, staff and everyone involved in European athletics must be our very top priority,” said Karamarinov.

Periklis Iakovakis, Chairman of the Athletes Committee, said that many athletes are keen that the European Championships go ahead as planned.

“To have the light at the end of the tunnel that Paris 2020 may still go ahead is something positive in these extremely hard times. This has been a stressful and confusing period for athletes, we have lost our structure and our sense of normality. We join our larger communities in focusing on the health and well-being of everyone during the Covid-19 outbreak,” commented Iakovakis.

In other decisions, the Executive Board in collaboration with the various LOCs, agreed to postpone both the European 10,000m Cup and European Mountain Running Championships to 2021.

The European Athletics U18 Championships, which was scheduled for 16-19 July in Rieti, Italy will now not take place in 2020. Any new date for the latter event will be communicated in due course.

The Leiria 2020 European Throwing Cup, originally scheduled for 21-22 March in Portugal and postponed earlier this month, is now cancelled.

The European Athletics Council is scheduled to meet by video conference on 7-8 May.

Possible World Athletics Championship postponement

In an interview on Radio 4’s ‘Today’ Programme Dick Pound also highlighted that World Athletics need to consider the timing of the World Athletics Championships due to take place in the summer of 2021 given the postponement of the Olympic Games.

In World Athletics’ own press statement they raise the possibility of moving the championships to the summer of 2022 which in turn would impact on the Commonwealth Games (Birmingham) and European Championship (Munich) due to take place at the same time.

It is clear the effects of a postponed Olympic Games have a big knock on effect for sports administrators’ and athletes’ planning over a much longer period than just one year.

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Munich 2022 will also mark the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games held in the German city, with the iconic Munich Olympic Park set to be the heart of the second edition of the multi-sport championships.

Six sports that were part of the 2018 edition have already confirmed their participation and the staging of their respective continental championships in the event that will take place Thursday 11 to Sunday 21 August 2022: Athletics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon.

Eurovision Sport, a division of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), will again be the media rights partner for the Championships, ensuring extensive free-to-air coverage through EBU Member broadcasters and partners.

The majority of events and activities will take place in and around the Munich Olympic Park in order to create an extraordinary festival atmosphere that allows athletes from different sports to experience the event together and visitors to embrace multiple events.

The EC2022 Board is also pleased to confirm the dates of the 2026 edition of the European Championships. Following consultation involving the participating European Federations (European Athletics, UEC, FISA, UEG, ETU, ET-LET), the dates are: Thursday 30 July to Sunday 9 August 2026.

European Championships 2022 Board Chair and European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen said: “I speak for all the participating sports in saying how delighted we are to be going to the wonderful city of Munich in 2022, and for athletics we are especially happy to be heading back to Germany, after the success of Berlin 2018, where we know there are so many passionate sports fans. It is testament to the fantastic legacy of the Munich Olympic Park that we will bring our individual European Championships together again there, on the 50th anniversary of the Olympic Games, and use many of its iconic venues.

“We are very pleased to partner again with Eurovision Sport, meaning that millions of sports fans will be able to experience the unique excitement of the European Championships 2022, via free-to-air broadcasters.”

The inaugural European Championships in 2018 took place through 2-12 August, with Glasgow and Berlin successfully staging seven European Championships with 13 disciplines.

A television audience of more than 1.4 billion watched this memorable first edition on free-to-air channels via EBU Member broadcasters and partners in 44 territories across Europe and worldwide. There were 1.9 billion visits on websites registered and the reach on social media was 745 million.

Across the two host cities, a total of one million people attended a sports session at the likes of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, watched a road race on the cities’ streets, or experienced the festival-like atmospheres in George Square in Glasgow and the Breitscheidplatz in Berlin.

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When Scotland and GB’s Laura Muir stormed to victory in the European Athletics Championships 1500m, it was the first outdoor championship title of her career, a fact that surprises many who have followed her increasingly impressive rise up the ranks over the past few years.

Her gold medal was Britain’s first in this event, and she did so convincingly, taking the win comfortably from Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui in 4:02.32.

Laura Weightman showed her depth of speed and endurance is improving with every championships as she added 1500m bronze to her Commonwealth 5000m bronze from this year’s Gold Coast games, crossing the line in 4:03.75. The gutsy Morpeth Harrier also won 1500m bronze at these championships in 2014, and it’s clear she has much more to give.

There was disappointment for Ireland’s Ciara Mageean, however, who fought hard for bronze but was ultimately denied by Weightman, finishing fourth in 4:04.63. The Portaferry star fought so hard, in fact, that she had to interrupt her post-race interview to be sick!

Giddy in victory, Muir was understandably keen to rank her performance as ‘at the top’ of all of achievements – so far, while Weightman was ‘incredibly proud’ of what she’s achieved this year. The Steve Cram-coached athlete also tops the British rankings with her Podium 5k course record earlier this year of 15:25.

Dundee Hawkhill’s Eilish McColgan was rewarded for her gutsy running when she won her first ever championship medal with silver in the 5000m, while Poole AC’s Melissa Courtney and Aldershot, Farnham & District’s Steph Twell also ran well.

It was a sensational silver medal for @EilishMccolgan at the @EuroAthletics Championships this evening and the delight was clear for all to see.

She was spectacular!#REPRESENT pic.twitter.com/GnCk40iNTy

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) August 12, 2018

The deceptively slight yet strong McColgan led the race from the off until halfway when the former Kenyan turned Turkish athlete Yasemin Can overtook her at pace.

While Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter mistakenly celebrated silver after finishing the 12.5 lap race a lap early, it was McColgan who went onto finish second in 14:53.05, exclaiming afterwards: “I’m so happy.. I feel like I have a PB in me over the 5k.”

Courtney ran a massive 12 second PB in fifth to run 15:04.75, while Twell’s 15:41.10 earned her tenth place.

The British women’s and men’s 4x100m teams were on fire when they both won gold in front of roaring crowds in the Berlin stadium.

The women’s victory saw excellent runs from Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Dina Asher-Smith to take the win in a world-leading 41.88, while CJ Ujah, Zharnel Hughes, Adam Gemili and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey added a third European 4x100m gold to the team’s collection in successive years, finishing in a superb 37.80. 

Britain’s Rosie Clarke made her first major championships 3000m steeplechase count when she finished 10th in 9:32.15, less than a second shy of her PB, representing her club Epsom & Ewell in determined style.

There was also an exciting pole vault competition on the final night of athletics, which saw Sweden’s 18-year-old Armand Duplantis set a world U20 record of 6.05m to take gold ahead of neutral athlete Timur Morgunov’s silver (6.00m) and France’s evergreen Renaud Lavillenie’s bronze (5.95m).

Britain’s Adam Hague of Sheffield & Dearne made his championship final debut with a 5.65m PB to finish 10th overall, a fine achievement for the 20 year-old.

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The British trio of Tracy Barlow, Sonia Samuels and Caryl Jones were the only three British athletes to complete the circuit in tough conditions at the European Championships in Berlin on Sunday (August 12).

They clocked 2:35:00, 2:37:36 & 2:40:41 to finish in 15th, 21st and 30th respectively and were edged out of the bronze medal position by Spain.

Barlow stuck in the chasing pack for a long period of the race, sitting in 11th position at the halfway point before losing some ground in the second third of the race. She produced a strong finish, measuring her final loop well and holding off a late surge from Katharina Heinig (GER) to hang onto 15th.

Teammates Charlotte Purdue and Lily Partridge both withdrew from the race, Purdue shortly after 10km and Partridge not long after the 25km mark.

“I didn’t feel too hot, it got quite windy actually,” said Barlow afterwards. “I ended up at the front of my pack so I couldn’t quite run behind anybody. I felt good until the last lap and then the legs just went and I felt a bit iffy. I am pleased with it.

“My friend who is up in the crowd was with me then and to think that the last time she went with me I ran sub-three and now I am running for GB!

“With championship races I have realised that it is not about time, it is about positioning and tactics in a way. I never went into it with a goal time in mind, it was about running strong and finishing as high up as I could.”

Belarus’ Volha Mazuronak won gold in 2:26:22 ahead of France’s Clemence Calvin in 2:26:30, while Czech athlete Eva Vrabcova-Nyvltova completed the podium in a personal best 2:26:31. The Belarusian lived up to the tag of pre-race favourite despite suffering nose bleeds and almost taking a wrong turn in the last mile.

Photo: Getty

Samuels, like Barlow, was controlled in her running to ensure herself of 21st position. She stuck to the leading group for around the first 10km, before moving to a mid-field position and finishing just shy of her season’s best of achieved at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She added: “I just didn’t feel good today. Some days are like that and you have just got to keep your head down because after all this is a team race and I didn’t want to let the team down.

“For me it is a big disappointment because I am in great shape, I just didn’t get to show that today but I am sure I will be back.”

Jones by comparison produced a season’s best of 2:40:41, eclipsing the 2:43:58 she clocked on the Gold Coast at the Commonwealth Games.

She ran a calm race making steady progress to put herself in 27th position at the halfway stage. And crossing the line in 30th, recording a new best for 2018.

The final session of the championships gets underway back at the stadium tonight with British interest in the finals of the women’s 1500m, 3000m steeplechase, 5000m, 4x100m relay, hammer and men’s triple Jump, pole vault and 4x100m.

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Ireland’s marathoners battled the tough conditions to finish six in the men’s team competition and eighth in the women’s event at the European Championships in Berlin on Sunday (August 12).

Kevin Seaward was the best of the men and once again impressed in a championship marathon to finish 15th overall in 2:16:58.

Seaward, who claimed a top-four spot at the Commonwealth Games in April, was followed across the finish line by Mick Clohisey in 18th place running a time of 2:18:00.

Less than a minute behind in 25th was Sean Hehir who clocked 2:18:58 to secure sixth place for the Irish team in a combined time of 6:53:55.

Conditions got progressively hotter throughout the race which proved challenging for the runners as the temperature got hotter the further they went into the race.

Sergiu Ciobanu was next for Ireland in 36th place running 2:19:49, followed by Paul Pollock in 47th posting a time of 2:23:26.

Koen Naert of Belgium took gold in a championship record of 2:09:51 ahead of Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham in 2:11:24 with Italy’s Yassine Rachik completing the podium in 2:12:09.

In the women’s race, Lizzie Lee led the team to eighth place after crossing the line in a time of 2:40:12 to finish 29th overall.

Breege Connolly finished 31st in a time of 2:41:53, with Gladys Ganiel running 2:42:42 to cross the line in 33rd place.

The trio posted a combined time of 8:04:46 to finish eighth in the team competition.

Afterwards, Lee said: “Position wise and time wise I was hoping for a bit better but if you had told me I was going to finish at mile 22 I would have bitten your hand off.”

Women’s marathon team post race where they placed 8th overall pic.twitter.com/z4FhEjTQkz

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 12, 2018

Volha Mazuronak of Belarus won gold in 2:26:22, just seconds ahead of France’s Clemence Calvin in 2:26:30, while Czech athlete Eva Vrabcova-Nyvltova completed the podium in a personal best 2:26:31.

The Belarusian lived up to the tag of pre-race favourite despite suffering nose bleeds and almost taking a wrong turn in the last mile.

RELATED: The marathon story of Kevin Seaward

RELATED: The alternative route to the top by Ireland’s marathon women

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Jakob Ingebrigtsen stormed to 5000m gold at the European Championships in Berlin on Saturday night (August 11) to complete an unbelievable double.

The 17 year-old, who cruised to 1500m gold the night before, beating his two older brothers among others, took victory in 13:17.06, to become the first man to complete a 1500m and 5000m double at the European Championships.

Just like in the 1500m final, the youngster took the lead at the front in the early stages and maintained that position looking assured and in command right to the line.

Ingebrigtsen’s winning time also breaks his own European under-20 record.

“Winning a second title in two days is the result of having done this my whole life,” said Ingebrigtsen. “We started preparing for the 5K final as soon as we crossed the line in the 1500m last night. It was a little crazy to get this medal. This is huge.”

Older brother Henrik Ingebrigtsen tried to go with the pace of his sibling but it too much and he took silver in 13:18.75, while European 10,000m champion, Morhad Amdouni of France, claimed bronze in 13:19.14.

Great Britain’s Marc Scott achieved a top-five spot in 13:23.14, while Chris Thompson finished ninth in 13:25.11, and Ben Connor ran a PB of  13:25.31 to cross the line in 11th place.

At just 17 @JakobIng has doubled up at the European championships!

He adds the 5000m to his 1500m crown!#EC2018 pic.twitter.com/c7Vn1exmKm

— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) August 11, 2018

RELATED: 17 year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen storms to European 1500m gold

Dina Asher-Smith completes fantastic sprint double

It was a case of deja-vu for Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith on Saturday night as she claimed 200m gold in a British record time to complete a historic sprint double.

Fresh from smashing the British record and setting a world lead en route to 100m gold earlier in the week, Asher-Smith dominated the final of the 200m from gun to tape to leave the field in her wake and post a time that stands at both the new British record and again the fastest time in the world this year.

Putting together a magnificent bend sequence, Asher-Smith came into the home straight with a sizeable lead and gold in her sights. With world champion Dafne Schippers looking to close, a final push for the line saw gold clinched in a time of 21.89, a huge revision of her own British record which previously stood at 22.07, as well as the quickest time in the world this year.

“The race was over in a blur; I remember crossing the line and it was like a mixture of happiness and relief that I got it, but yeah, 21.8, honestly I haven’t taken it in yet. 10.8 and 21.8 is more than I could have asked for from this,” said Asher-Smith post-race.

“This year I told myself that I at least wanted to run a 10.8 – I had a joke with my physio that if I run 10.8 I can buy myself a little cute necklace that I’ve been eyeing up. But I didn’t have a time in my head coming into the 200m because I’d done the 100m already and didn’t know how tired I’d be.”

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Matthew Hudson-Smith claimed Great Britain’s third gold medal of the European Championships on Friday (Aug 10), while Katarina Johnson-Thompson delivered her third major medal of 2018 in Berlin.

It was a top evening for GB athletes with Hudson-Smith storming to gold in the men’s 400m, Johnson-Thompson securing silver and personal best in the heptathlon and Meghan Beesley and Jake Wightman claiming women’s 400m hurdles and men’s 1500m bronze respectively.

Wightman finished superbly down the home straight to clinch bronze in a race won by 17 year-old Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen. A full report from a memorable men’s 1500m final can be found here.

RELATED: 17 year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen storms to European 1500m gold

European No.1 coming in, Hudson-Smith lived up to the billing, running a hard and strong first 200m to take a sizeable lead over the rest of the field at a packed Olympiastadion in Berlin, before holding off pressure from the Borleé brothers from Belgium to win in 44.78.

It is the third consecutive year that the European 400m title has been won by a British athlete, following Martyn Rooney, who claimed successive victories in 2014 and 2016. Hudson-Smith said: “I got to the last 50m and my legs had gone. That was crazy; I will never do that again.

Matthew Hudson-Smith wins gold in the 400m!

What a run! pic.twitter.com/IP8KwqHIAf

— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) August 10, 2018

Hudson-Smith said: “I got to the last 50m and my legs had gone. That was crazy; I will never do that again.

“It feels amazing, but oh my god that lactic – it hurt. But a win’s a win and I’m just happy I got it. For me personally, it was about the win. The [British] record is going to come. It’s just a matter of time. It’s not an ‘if’ it’s a ‘when’. And I did push for it, but I wanted the victory more and I got that. It’s all that matters.

“I paid for the semi-final a little bit today but it proved there’s a big time in there, everyone knows I can do it. I got the victory, the first title, at end of the day, I said before the race if I ran 48 or 42, I just want the win; titles mean more to me than times.”

Superb silver for Johnson-Thompson

Meanwhile, Johnson-Thompson set a new personal best score of 6759 points as she claimed a superb silver medal behind Belgian Olympic and world champion Nafi Thiam in the heptathlon, describing her performance as the best of her career.

She required a winning margin of around 13.5 seconds to take victory from Thiam in the 800m finale but the Belgian came in just under ten seconds behind the Brit to deny what would have been her third major title this year.

Johnson-Thompson sat in second position heading into the final event and clocked 2:09.85, ending just 57 points behind Thiam, who claimed gold in a world leading 6816 points.

Speaking afterwards, Johnson-Thompson said: “I’m really happy and pleased with the performances. I’m happy with the whole attitude, the whole heptathlon, my progression and the fact that I feel like I’m on to something – I’m satisfied with the performance but I definitely want more.

“It’s very hard to front run and I’ve found that out now so I need to put some work in there, but anything can happen in athletics and in sport. I feel like I can do it – I believe in myself and this is going to be good for me moving forward.”

A welcome surprise for Beesley

Beesley surprised everyone inside the Olympiastadion as she clocked 55.31 to take the bronze medal in the women’s 400m hurdles, with Eilidh Doyle eighth in 56.23.

The Birchfield Harrier pushed hard in the opening 200m and found another gear on the home straight to hold off the challenge of Hanne Claes (BEL) to secure a medal.

She assessed: “I know that I’m short and that running in lane one would help with my stride pattern. I had to commit but I do think it helped me. It’s not like I’m a six feet odd girl that needs to do the strides. I just thought I’d go for it and my coach told me to 100 per cent commit and then give it everything I got and put it to the max.

“It’s the first final I’ve got to for GB as a senior so I just thought this is my time to prove that I can perform well in finals. I haven’t been injured now since April last year. It’s the longest I’ve ever been so I just think it’s about that and moving coaches. My new coach Mike Baker has helped me with the mental aspect and I feel more confident now.”

Brilliant bronze for Wightman

Wightman rounded off the evening’s proceedings with bronze in the men’s 1500m, despite being at the tail end of the field until 300m to go.

A great move from the 24-year-old saw him pass Norway’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen in the home straight and pull away to secure a medal in 3:38.25, 0.15 seconds away from winning gold won by 17-year-old Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

Fellow Brits Charlie Da’Vall Grice and Chris O’Hare clocked 3:38.65 and 3:39.53 to finish fifth and ninth respectively.

Wightman added: “I’m relieved to be fair – that was the most pressure I’ve put on myself at any championships – you have no idea what’s going to happen and the way people have been running up to this point meant that it was a pretty exciting race for people to watch.

“It was a pretty amazing experience going into the final 100m with us Brits and the three Norwegians attempting to win it. If you ran that race 100 times there would be 100 different outcomes.”

Adelle Tracey was the best performing British athlete in a tactical women’s 800m final, finishing fourth in 2:00.86.

Tracey found herself in a strong position on the shoulders of the leaders with 200m to go and despite seeing a gap, found the door closed in the final metres, as she missed out on a medal by 0.06.

Like the men’s 1500m final, there were three Brits in the women’s 800m medal showdown, however, Lynsey Sharp and Shelayna Oskan-Clarke were outside the podium positions too in sixth and eighth respectively.

There will be no British representation in the final of the men’s 800m as the British trio of Guy Learmonth, Daniel Rowden and Elliot Giles all missed out on a spot in the automatic qualifying places.

Other action

Andrew Pozzi (Benke Blomkvist; Stratford-upon-Avon) finished his 110m hurdles campaign in sixth with a time of 13.48 (0.0m/s). He clocked a season’s best 13.28 (0.8m/s) to progress in second place in his semi-final.

Teammate David King was unable to join him in the final, finishing sixth, also in a season’s best of 13.55 (-0.1m/s).

Morgan Lake had to settle for seventh in the women’s high jump after clearing a best of 1.91m while Naomi Ogbeta’s first-round effort of 13.94m (0.1m/s) saw her finish 12th in the women’s triple jump.

Earlier in the evening, three British athletes secured their place in the final of the women’s 200m, led by newly-crowned European 100m champion and world leader Asher-Smith.

The Brit followed up her victory in the 100m by clocking 22.33 (1.1m/s) to qualify fastest, with Bianca Williams coming through in the same heat as a fastest loser in 22.83 (1.1m/s) after finishing third.

British champion Beth Dobbin fought herself into second place with a strong final 50m in the second heat, ensuring she qualified in 22.84 (1.4m/s) but Jodie Williams missed out on joining them, finishing fifth in 23.28 (0.2m/s).

After qualifying, Asher-Smith said: “That was quite comfortable, surprisingly. I’m happy with it, but it’s obviously all about tomorrow. The last couple of days have been strange – obviously having a new PB of 10.85 has been insane, but for me it’s mainly been about sleeping and trying to get some recovery in – I knew I had to come out here and do the best that I can.”

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Jakob Ingebrigtsen showed age is only a number as he delivered a performance beyond his teenage years to take victory in the men’s 1500m final at the European Championships on Friday (Aug 10).

The 17 year-old led after 800m and maintained his commanding position at the front as his experienced rivals jostled for positions down the home straight, before taking gold in 3:38.10.

Ingebrigtsen, who earlier this year beat USA Olympic and world medalist Paul Chelimo and reigning Olympic 1500m champion Matt Centrowitz at the Payton Jordan Invitational, looked assured throughout the metric mile race to finish ahead of his older brothers, 2016 European champion Filip and 2012 European champion Henrik.

Over the final 400m the youngster ran 53.64, and according to IAAF’s Jon Mulkeen, that time would put the European middle-distance champion inside Norway’s top 50 under-20 400m runners this year. Ingebrigtsen also clocked 1:51.27 over the final 800m and that time would rank him 12th on the Norwegian under-20 all-time list.

At the age of 17, Ingebrigtsen has dominated European junior athletics, winning two under-20 cross country titles, under-20 5000m and 3000m steeplechase gold and under-18 1500m gold.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins the #EC2018 1500m final in 3:38 and makes it look reallll easy pic.twitter.com/GplTYVLynk

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 10, 2018

In terms of records, he is the holder of the fastest ever European under-20 1500m, mile, 3000m steeplechase and 5000m records.

Last year the teenage star chatted to Fast Running about his goals and family rivalry saying: “I want to be the best runner in the world and I will do everything to reach that goal. If that’s not my goal, then I don’t think all the sacrifices are worth it to finish second.

“There is always pressure, but I probably put most of it on myself. I always set very high targets because I want to achieve so much in my career.”

Behind the Norwegian star, Great Britain’s Jake Wightman finished superbly in the closing stages to clinch bronze in 3:38.25, just behind Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski in 3:38.14.

Henrik Ingebrigtsen finished fourth, while GB’s Charlie Da’Vall Grice was fifth, with teammate Chris O’Hare ninth. The defending champion Filip Ingebrigtsen finished 12th.

Bronze for Jake Wightman

It was a great bronze medal from GB’s Wightman in third, who add another major medal to his Commonwealth Games bronze won for Scotland in April.

Photo: Getty

“I’m relieved to be fair,” said Wightman afterwards. “That was the most pressure I’ve put on myself at any championships – you have no idea what’s going to happen and the way people have been running up to this point.

“It meant that it was a pretty exciting race for people to watch and it was a pretty amazing experience going into the final 100m with us Brits and the three Norwegians attempting to win it, and if you ran that race 100 times there would be 100 different outcomes.

“There have been occasions, especially Europeans last time around [2016], when I made the wrong move and compromised my whole race. I made sure I was patient today and left it until the home straight which is why it was so intense in the home straight, but another bronze medal; I can’t complain with how it’s gone for me.”

Earlier this year, Wightman also won his first British title at the GB Indoor Championships in February.

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GB’s Laura Muir and Ireland’s Ciara Mageean finished one and two in the first of two heats to automatically qualify for the European Championships final, with Laura Weightman also booking her place in Sunday’s race after finishing as runner-up in the second heat on Friday morning (Aug 10).

British record holder Muir won the first heat in 4:09.12 ahead of 2016 European bronze medalist Mageean in 4:09.35. GB’s Jemma Reekie was also running in heat one and finished eighth in 4:10.35.

“I just wanted to stay out of trouble and I did that, so yes I am happy,” said double European indoor medalist Muir. “I had plenty in hand, it was just a case of staying out of trouble and trying to qualify as comfortably as possible.

“I have been in medal contention before and in the mix but not necessarily number one. But nothing is guaranteed. Laura Weightman ran well in her heat and there are a few other girls so I am not taking anything for granted and I am going to work as hard as I can on Sunday.”

Ireland’s Mageean looked back to her old self after recent disappointing championships, and said afterwards: “It felt good, a bit choppy at times, but then everyone is trying to hold their position, and comfortable, it gives me confidence for the final.

“I came out to get the big ‘Q’ next to my name and job done. My only tactic and instruction was to qualify, and to finish as far up as I could. I didn’t want to be sitting there worrying about a fastest loser spot, so I knew what I had to do, and my aim was top-three really. So all boxes ticked.”

European bronze medalist in 2014, Weightman, who also won 5000m bronze at the Commonwealth Games in April, clocked 4:08.74 in heat two and secured the second automatic qualifying spot.

“I saw the time on the first one and I think it’s always important to be aware of what’s happened in front of you so I kept half an eye on it,” said Weightman after her heat. “Then when the race started and the Spanish girl went to the front I knew they didn’t want to risk it being much slower.

“But it turned out it was very similar to an 800 and I knew just to sit in and wait. It felt comfortable, I feel relaxed. I’m feeling strong so training has gone well and I’m excited for the final.”

No British woman has won European gold at 1500m, but on Sunday, Muir and Weightman will both have an opportunity to change that, while Mageean will aim to win her second consecutive European medal and follow up on Thomas Barr’s medal success for Ireland on Thursday.

Following three of four middle-distance heats, eight British athletes from a possible nine, have qualified for the 800m and 1500m finals. On Friday evening in the men’s 800m semi-finals, Elliot Giles, Guy Learmonth and Daniel Rowden will aim to make it 11 GB athletes through to the finals.

In the 3000m steeplechase heats, GB’s Rosie Clarke comfortably advanced from the second of two 3000m steeplechase heats in 9:33.78 to finish fourth, her third fastest ever time. Ireland’s Michelle Finn and Kerry O’Flatherty were also in action but miss out on the final.

Irish record holder Phil Healy qualified from the early 200m rounds finishing third in 23.34 to book her spot in the semi-finals on Friday evening, where she joins GB’s Dina Asher-Smith, Beth Dobbin, Bianca Williams and Jodie Williams.

Asher-Smith, of course, is hoping to win a European sprint double after her superb 100m gold on Tuesday.

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The post Muir, Weightman and Mageean advance to 1500m final in Berlin appeared first on Fast Running.

Thomas Barr created history by winning a brilliant bronze medal in the 400m hurdles in 48.31 seconds at the European Athletics Championships in Berlin on Thursday (August 9).

Barr became the first Irish male sprinter to win an outdoor European medal in the 84 year history of the event.

It was a truly world class race with favourite Karsten Warholm of Norway setting a national record of 47.64 as did Turkey’s Yasmani Copello who ran 47.81.

“It was really reminiscent of Rio with all the Irish flags and fans out there. It all came together and I was raring to go from the afternoon to get out there,” said Barr afterwards.

“I really wanted that hardware to join Ciara (Mageean) and Mark (English) with medals along with the greats like Sonia (O’Sullivan) and Derval (O’Rourke). I’m just so happy it came together and I’m really thankful to all my team.”

"Earlier in the day I felt nervous but as time went on I felt more relaxed" – @TomBarr247 reflects on becoming the first Irishman in the 84-year history of the European Athletics Championships to win a medal in a sprint event #rtesport pic.twitter.com/zgaq3BLpmb

— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 9, 2018

It made Thomas Barr the tenth Irish athlete to win a medal at the European Championships.

Leon Reid was a little disappointed with seventh in the 200m final with 20.37 but, like the 400m hurdles final, it was arguably the highest quality in the history of the championship.

It was won by Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev in a championship record of 19.76.

“Disappointing with the result because we always come here to win or be on the mix,” said Reid afterwards. “I hit that bend hard but they must have just piggy backed on me because they came around on me.

“If I want to be up there with those guys I need to be able to hit that straight coming off the bend.

“It’s something I’m going to have to work on. It’s not a bad debut finishing 7th in a European final. I want to push on now. It was great to have friends and family over and finally run for Ireland.”

Friday will be a busy morning of action for Irish athletes with Phil Healy in the heats of the 200m at 10:25, Ciara Mageean in the heats of the 1500m, while Kerry O’Flaherty and Michelle Finn are in the heats of the 3000m steeplechase at 11:25.

There is also relay action with the heats of the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays at 12:05 and 12:40. Thomas Barr has a quick turnaround competing in the 4x400m relay.

RELATED: Barr-ing bad luck a European medal is within his grasp

The post Thomas Barr wins historic 400m hurdles bronze in Berlin appeared first on Fast Running.