It is strange to think we are over two thirds of the way through the European Indoor Championships. It feels like it only started yesterday – which is not far off true – yet so much has happened it also feels like it’s been going for weeks. If it was the Great North Run, we’d have turned onto the seafront in South Shields, with the final stretch to come tomorrow.

Saturday saw plenty of action, drama and upsets. I’ll take you on a whistle stop tour of what happened. Buckle up, it will be a bumpy ride. Or at least will be if you are a female 1500m runner.

Here Come the Girls

In my original preview I said I was genuinely excited for the women’s 800m. After the heats and the semi finals, that sentiment has not changed. For the first time in European Indoors history, Great Britain will have three women in the 800m final. Not only that, it is a debut senior Champs for Keely Hodgkinson, Issy Boffey and Ellie Baker, and they all look right at home. 

Tonight’s three semi-finals were led out by Keely, literally, who led the first heat from start to finish for a comfortable and commanding win. It wasn’t just the win that was impressive but the manner in which she did it. Of the three races, hers was the slowest through 600m, (1:34.42), but Keely ran the final lap in an astonishing 28.69, to be the fastest from the three races with 2:03.11.

Issy was next to go in a field including home favourite Joanna Jozwik. Issy stayed out of trouble towards the back of the field for the first three quarters of the race, before making a decisive (and brave) move at the bell to take a jump on the other five athletes. Her bravery was rewarded with a second place finish behind Jozwik and a place in the final. Two down, one to go..

Next up, Ellie. Could she make it that half of the final would be British? Of course she could. Sitting comfortably off the shoulder of Spain’s Daniela Garcia, not panicking when the field bunched around her around halfway before breaking on the final lap, coming second behind Angelika Cichocka. She was clearly delighted in her post-race interview with the BBC, moreso when told she’d be joined by Keely and Issy. 

Three great performances. Three potential medallists. I can’t wait. 

The final is at 17:13 Sunday (UK time). 

Bumper Cars?

The women’s 1500m final was wide open; I struggled to call a winner beforehand, and was none the wiser after the heats. Holly Archer and Katie Snowden both looked good in their heats, but then so did about 7 other athletes. Would someone lead it out from the start and go for a time, or would it be a more sedate affair?

Well, neither. It was one of the most ridiculous races I’ve seen, resembling a game of bumper cars on Brighton Pier more than a track final. Elbows, pushes, barging. Based on the DQ-happy officials to date, a lap didn’t pass without a “that could be a DQ moment”. 

It started at a pedestrian pace – 2:30.84 through 800m – with Spain’s Ester Guerrero making a break for it before running out of stream in the home straight (she was leading at 1400m, but finished fifth). Belgium’s Elise Vanderelst capitalised to take the title in 4:18.44. 

Finding gaps that soon disappear

Holly had sat towards the middle and back of the very tight pack for much of the race, but had a strong finish to come home second with Hanna Klein of Germany taking the bronze. However, there  had been moments in the race where Holly appeared to try and fill two or three gaps that didn’t exist, and there was reluctance to celebrate too early, both online and, it seemed, by Holly herself. It was as if she knew.

Sure enough, 15 minutes later, her disqualification was announced, as was that of Spain’s Agueda Munoz. A very sad situation. The GB camp submitted an appeal, but the coverage didn’t seem necessarily in her favour, and a distraught Holly’s Instagram Stories made for incredibly hard viewing. 

Fast forward 45 minutes or so – good news! Holly was reinstated and confirmed as silver medallist. Given the extent of pushing and shoving elsewhere in the race (and reinstatements elsewhere – notably the men’s 1500m), it feels the right decision. At the time of writing there’s a counter-appeal under consideration, but I can’t see another change, would be more flip flops in one evening than in my wardrobe. 

Happy endings exist!

(Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

Wonderful Webb

Jamie Webb continued his impressive return from injury with a second-place finish in the 800m semi-finals, clocking an impressive 1:45.99, one of the fastest indoor runs of his career. He was surprised by the pace, telling the BBC it felt like he was in a 60m race for the first lap but that he is very much looking to upgrade his silver from Glasgow two years ago. 

The pace was set by Andreas Kramer of Sweden, but Poland’s Mateusz Borkowski made a move at the bell and was rewarded with a PB crossing the line first, with Kramer third. 

Borkowski was subsequently disqualified for pushing Kramer (who’d then advance to the final), but was later reinstated after an appeal. Sound familiar? 

Spare a thought for Spain’s Mariano Garcia, who is entertaining for the motorcycle impressions he brings to his pre-race introductions and post-race celebrations. He went out like a man on a mission in the first heat, going through 400m in 53.58, over a second ahead of the rest of the field. Unfortunately his motorcycle ran out of petrol in the last 100m and he was overtaken just before the line by Amel Tuka and Patryk Dobek. 

I omitted Dobek from my pre-compeition preview, but Mark Hookway touted him as one to watch. He was right, with the Pole – best known as a 400m hurdler – qualifying for the final in a race that is precisely one month after his first ever 800m race. Crazy!

Guy Learmonth finished fourth in 1:47.92.

Pierre Amboise Bosse and Adam Kszczot complete the line up in Sunday’s final.

Earlier in the Day

The morning session predominantly incorporated a somewhat ridiculous number of men’s 60m heats, alongside both 60m hurdle heats (as some who know me might expect, it would be remiss for me to not mention Nadine Visser’s 7.92 to go into tomorrow’s semis and final as the fastest in the field). 

However, it also saw the heats of the men’s 3000m, with Jack Rowe, Andrew Butchart and Phil Sesemann going for Great Britain.

Andrew and Jack both safely qualified for the final, and I was particularly impressed by Jack’s performance. He led the field from 1500m, holding on for third position, an automatic qualifying spot and his second fastest time (7:55.67).

Butchart was the fastest qualifier (7:46.46) and was pleased with how the 7.5 laps went.

Flying Scotsman in control

“It felt good. It went exactly how I wanted it to go,” said the Scot. “The floor felt pretty smooth and my legs should be pretty fresh for tomorrow. The main thing is to be as fresh as I can for the final and hopefully I can come back tomorrow and get the win. 

“When we went out quick, I knew some people would struggle with it, so I tried to keep clear. When it’s like that, you can look around a bit and enjoy the moment, so that was nice. I want to bring home a medal. The shinier, the better.”

Phil Sesemann ran well to finish fifth in a loaded heat, behind reigning Champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Jimmy Gressier, Isaac Kimeli and Mike Foppen. Given his focus has been on marathon training, and he viewed the British Indoor Championships as potentially his last, I’d say it was a bloody good showing. 

Poor Mike Foppen, though. He went out at a crazy pace, at one point about 75m ahead of the field, but clearly struggled in the last kilometre before being swallowed on the home straight and not making the final. 

Elsewhere

As always, I’ll end with some notable performances in the non-middle distance events. Jodie Williams took a brilliant bronze in the 400m from lane 1. Not only that, she did so with a 51.73 PB to go eighth on the British all-time list. A captain-worthy performance from the British Team Captain.

The race was won by Dutchwoman Femke Bol, who set her fifth 400m National Record of the year (50.63), still the fastest European over the distance in 14 years. 

Holly Bradshaw also added a bronze to her European Indoors collection (2013 Gold, 2019 Silver) in the polevault, with a 4.65m best clearance. 

Sunday’s action kicks off at 09:00.

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This afternoon in writing about yesterday’s 3000m heats, I said the following: This leaves the Brits as first, third and fourth fastest from the heats going into the final at 20:00 tonight. As Ellie Goulding sings, ‘anything could happen’!

Turns out I was right; anything could happen, and everything did happen. Verity Ockenden, Amy-Eloise Markovc and Amelia Quirk went in as first, third and fourth fastest respectively, and they did not disappoint. 

Israel’s Selamawit Bayoulgn led out the field for the first half, at one point the on-screen pace calculator predicting a 8:38 finish. Continuing a pattern of frontrunning she was closely followed by Amelia, still in only her third ever race indoors, with a relatively bunched field behind including Verity and Amy-Eloise. 

Unfortunately Maureen Koster tripped with less than 400m to go, almost taking Mehaf Bahta down with her, which allowed Verity, Amy-Eloise, Amelia, France’s Alice Finot and Selamawit to gain a gap – five Brits in the top five with less than two laps to go! 

Down to the final lap

At the bell it was down to Verity, Amy-Eloise and Alice. Even at 100m to go it was impossible to predict the order of the podium. It had me off the sofa and on my feet, I can imagine what I’d have been doing had I been in the stands in Torun as once planned. 

Amy-Eloise took the win in 8:46.43 – an eight second PB – with a fast finishing Alice taking silver and Verity just behind for bronze in 8:46.60, a five second PB. Just 17 one hundredths of a second separating the podium. Amazing.

Amelia held on for an impressive fifth, again a PB, with 8:48.82. I can’t really comprehend running that speed in your third go indoors. It’s superb. 

The race, and the podium, was the greatest demonstration as to why you should send full teams, even if the ‘big’ names don’t choose to participate, and more importantly never write an athlete off, always give them a chance. Three athletes making their senior debut, all in the top five and two coming home with medals. 

Verity, who will be 30 in August, and Amy-Eloise, who ran at the World Juniors ten years ago, are perfect examples of the fact that it is not all about what you do at the start of your career. Fantastic. 

I also think not setting a medal target helps to remove a layer of unnecessary pressure, I commend Head Coach Christian Malcolm for that. 

Verity was crying on the podium, I wasn’t far off doing the same on my sofa. I’m not sure there’ll be a result this weekend that tops that for me personally.

A great performance by Piers Copeland in his first senior championships. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

Who Won The 1500m?

Well, as I write this, no one really knows who won the men’s 1500. 

I billed it as a race of Jakob Ingebrigtsen against Marcin Lewandowski, and that’s exactly what happened, with Jakob leading it out after a couple of laps and never giving up the lead, crossing the line first in 3:38.06. Marcin took second in 3:38.47, swapping their positions from the previous edition in Glasgow in 2019. Spain’s Jesus Gomez took third, matching his medal from Glasgow. 

But, drama alert. There was some pushing and shoving mid-race, and Jakob has been disqualified for taking one step off the track. There was no apparent advantage, and a counter-protest was raised by the Norwegians.

[It was a story with a happy ending, for Norway rather than Poland, with the young Norwegian re-instated and given the title. Lewandowski having to settle for second, instead of a fourth successive win – Editor].

Piers Copeland, another athlete making their senior debut, finished in an excellent fifth place with 3:39.99. 

Jamie Webb of Great Britain competes in the Men’s 800 metres. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

Guy Goes For It

The heats of the 800m followed the largely expected script, with no surprise results to tell you about. Having no non-automatic qualifiers did add an extra layer to the six races. 

Guy Learmonth looked comfortable winning his heat (1:49.66) ahead of my favourite-for-gold Adam Kszczot, with Jamie Webb looking equally comfortable taking second in his heat (1:48.72).

Shout out to 18-year old Cian McPhillips of Ireland who took second to progress from the third heat, behind Spain’s Mariano Garcia and his motorcycle celebrations. 

Mark Hookway noted after my Champs preview that he’d been impressed by Patryk Dobek’s performances this season, who I’d failed to mention. Better known as a 400m hurdler, the Pole has paced a couple of 800ms on the circuit and looked sharp.

Mark was correct – the Pole won his heat finishing ahead of 2017 World Champion Pierre Ambroise Bosse and Irishman Mark English.

Eighteen men take to tomorrow’s semi-finals. 

Hello Holly

Holly Mills finished a superb fifth in the pentathlon with 4517, her second best and second score over 4,500 in a fortnight. A great performance by the 20 year old in her senior debut. She was clearly thrilled in her post-competition interview, with a brilliant outlook for the summer ahead:

“I feel like if you don’t aim for it [Tokyo] you’re never going to get there, so you might as well aim for it, if you miss it, you miss it”.

Nafi Thiam put in what she called an unexpected performance to set a PB and National Record of 4904 for the gold, a title that has swapped between Katarina Johnson Thompson and Nafi since 2015. She ended with a 2:18.80 800m indoor PB, which she set in 2013. Crazy.

The Belgian’s score puts her seventh on the all-time list, and I cannot wait for the eventual KJT-Nafi indoor battle. Belgrade next year, anyone?

Belgian Noor Vidts and Hungary’s Xenia Krizsan both set PBs for the silver and bronze. 

Elsewhere…

Two more noteworthy British performances before I sign off; Jodie Williams ran a 52.09 PB to qualify for tomorrow’s 400m final, whilst Emily Borthwick set a 1.91m high jump PB to also make the final. Her reaction to her third-attempt clearance was a joy to watch. 

Action kicks off at 09:00 tomorrow (UK time), including heats of the men’s 3000m.

The post Great British Greatness appeared first on Fast Running.

As James wrote in his preview, this weekend’s European Indoor Championships are the first time a large contingent of the British team are making their senior debut, gaining their first British vest or representing their country for the first time on the track. 

You’d never guess it by the maturity of the performances shown by the British athletes in the first two sessions of the four-day event, with 15 of the 17 athletes in action between the 400m and 3000m progressing from the heats. Want to know what’s been happening?

Then this round-up is for you!

Mišmaš-Mismatched (her step)

Yesterday’s opening night action saw a series of heats on the track and in the field, with the 3000m women taking centre stage from a British perspective. 

All three athletes easily progressed through to tonight’s final and could easily feature in the race for the medals. Amy-Eloise Markovc was first across the line in the opening heat in 8:56.26 – her second fastest time over the distance – in a strong field. Post-race she was evidently pleased with her first outing at a senior championships.

Also in Championship debuts, Verity Ockenden and Amelia Quirk lined up in the second heat with Quirk leading from the front in, impressively, her second ever indoor race. Verity ran tactically to finish second in 8:52.60 (less than a second behind her PB set last month), whilst Amelia was rewarded with a PB of 8:53.21 in fourth. 

The heat was not without controversy however, with Slovenia’s Maruša Mišmaš-Zrimšek (originally first) and the Netherlands’ Jip Vastenberg (originally third), both potential medalists, disqualified for stepping off the track and on the inside line respectively. Rules are rules, but the idea they gained an advantage from this is one certainly up for debate.

This leaves the Brits as first, third and fourth fastest from the heats going into the final at 20:00 tonight. As Ellie Goulding sings, ‘anything could happen’!

Piers Copeland of Great Britain competes in the Men’s 1500 metres during the European Athletics Indoor Championships at Torun Arena on March 04, 2021 in Torun, Poland. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

Revenge Over 7.5 Laps

Whilst I’ve billed the men’s 1500m as a battle between Marcin Lewandowski and Jakob Ingebrigtsen (who both easily qualified from their heats), two of the 12 finalists looking for a place on the podium will be Piers Copeland and Neil Gourley. 

Piers ran a smart race in his senior debut, sitting back for the first few laps before moving into third at the bell and finishing second behind Spain’s Ignacio Fontes in 3:38.88. Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran ran 3:39.00 for third and will also line up in tonight’s final as a non-automatic qualifier. 

Neil has come to Torun looking for vengeance, having qualified for the final two years ago in Glasgow, but unable to race due to illness. His heat included Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who looked comfortable throughout (even yawning on the start line), but it was Neil who crossed the line first in 3:39.84 with an evident grin. Whether that was for making the final, or for being able to say “I beat Jakob” is for you to decide. 

He was delighted with how the race went, saying post-race “I didn’t really put a foot wrong. I would be selling myself short if I said I was just happy to be in the final; I am looking to win a medal tomorrow and we will see if I can back that up tomorrow.  I am confident that my best performances will come in the championships, so I hope that is the case tomorrow.” 

Brighton Phoenix’s Archie Davis, another making his British senior debut, finished sixth in a heat won by Marcin Lewandowkski with a 3:41.40 – a hugely positive result for his debut.

The final is the last race of tonight’s session at 20:35. 

Dazzling Debuts

Good performances continued in this morning’s session by Britain’s middle-distance runners in the heats of the women’s 800m and 1500m. 

As I’ve said a few times, these Championships are an opportunity for athletes to compete on the “big” stage for the first time, and the 800m a prime example of this, with Keely Hodgkinson, Issy Boffey and Ellie Baker making their British senior debuts.

Saying they performed well feels like an understatement. Keely, who goes into the competition over a second faster this year than anyone else, comfortably won her heat in 2:05.63 and was pleased with how things went; “I felt good from the start, the pace was good and I managed to save as much energy as I could. The job is done and I’m looking forward to the semi-finals. I have faith in my training and my strength to get through the rounds. I need to make sure I stick to the plan and try not to make any mistakes.”

 Issy was the fastest of the three Brits, coming second in her heat behind Elena Bello of Italy in 2.04.08, whilst Ellie ran well to win her heat in 2:06.15. Norway’s Hedda Hynne – who I predicted would feature in the final – finished fourth behind Ellie and did not progress. 

Ireland’s Nadia Power progressed with 2:03.16 to come second in the fifth heat behind Poland’s Anna Wielgosz who ran a PB to finish as fastest in the heats. However, sadly Nadia’s two compatriots (Síofra Cléirigh Büttner and Georgie Hartigan) did not progress.

PBs and Progression

Following good performances from Piers Copeland and Neil Gourley in the 1500m heats yesterday, the women were not going to be upstaged over the same distance. 

Holly Archer of Great Britain competes in the Women’s 1500 metres during the first session on Day 1 of European Athletics Indoor Championships at Arena Torun on March 05, 2021 in Torun, Poland. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images for European Athletics)

Holly Archer set an outright PB of 4:09.77in winning the first heat, pushing the pace with three laps to go after a slow first kilometre (2:54). It was Holly’s first race in a British vest and her first time running sub-4:10. To say she was happy would be an understatement, telling the BBC post-race interview “I looked at the start list and thought this is a tough heat … for them!”. I am really excited to see how she goes in the final.

She will be joined by Herne Hill’s Katie Snowden, who led for much of the third heat, notably faster than the preceding two as athletes looked to secure one of three non-automatic qualifying spots. Making her senior British debut Katie’s tactics of leading out worked as she secured one of those fastest qualifying places with 4:10.70 for third. 

The final goes at 18:50 tomorrow.

Elsewhere…

Whilst we focus on the endurance races, it would be remiss of me to not quickly mention some other highlight performances. 

Jessie Knight, Jodie Williams and Ama Pipi easily progressed to the 400m semi finals, as did James Williams and Lee Thompson in the men’s two-lap heats. They’ll run again this evening. 

Whilst only 16^th fastest in the heats, Femke Bol is the standout favourite for the gold medal after running four (!) Dutch National Records this season, with her 50.48 PB the fastest European indoors since Nicola Sanders in 2007. 

I’ll end with my love for the combined events, where Holly Mills has made an excellent start in the first three events of the pentathlon. It’s her senior debut and has made good progress with a 8.22 60m hurdles (0.01 off her PB), 1.74m high jump (1cm shy of her PB) and a 13.22m SP, her fifth best ever. I can’t wait to see how she goes in the long jump and 800m tonight, especially after running a solo 2:12.07 in Manchester last month to qualify for the Champs. 

The field is led by reigning Olympic Champion and outdoor European Champion Nafi Thiam. It’s just a shame (he says selfishly as an athletics fan) that Katarina Johnson Thompson isn’t competing following injury earlier this year.

We’ll continue to bring updates throughout the weekend as the action continues.

The post What’s happened in Torun so far? appeared first on Fast Running.

Laura Muir and Melissa Courtney finished first and third in the 3000m final at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow on Friday (March 1).

The British pair both raced excellently at the Emirates Arena to win gold and bronze medals against strong competition.

Going into the championships Muir was the returning champion and favourite to win the 3000m event, but in-form Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany had recently run a world lead for the distance of 8:32.47 in Leipzig in February.

The German national indoor championship victory was a personal best for the 21 year old and obviously brought her to Glasgow brimming with confidence.

Klosterhalfen pushed on from halfway, after Eilish McColgan led the early stages, and only Muir could really answer the surge. Wales’ Courtney did brilliantly to hang onto the pair ahead.

The Scottish favourite sat on the shoulder of the German and looked relaxed, even though she had only just earlier qualified from her 1500m heat for Sunday’s final.

When the bell rang, the crowd roared and Laura Muir did what the supporting public wanted to see. From a relaxed and composed face on the shoulder of Klosterhalfen, the kick came with a look of determination and the German had no answer what so ever.

Cruising through the finish line in a championship record of 4:30.61 after a second 1500m of 4:05, it was a fine display of endurance running and pure speed to finish.

A determine bronze

It almost looked like Courtney had done too much in trying to hand onto the front pair, with tough work needed in the final kilometre by the Commonwealth Games medallist. German Alina Reh was chasing hard towards the end but Courtney held on well to earn a very well deserved bronze medal.

It was also a personal best for Courtney with a finishing time of 8:38.22 and a Welsh 3000m indoor record. Building on an excellent 2018 for the 25 year old it will be exciting to see what the rest of the year holds.

For Muir, the next challenge is just around the corner with the 1500m Championship to defend on Sunday evening. The Scot qualified with a 4:09.29 just before the 3000m final and once again looks like the athlete to beat.

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There is now only one month to go until some of the world’s leading athletes descend on Glasgow for the European Athletics Indoor Championships.

The athletics showpiece, which takes place over three days (March 1-3), returns to Glasgow next month for the first time since 1990 and there will be 650 athletes from more than 45 nations setting their sights on glory.

The Scottish city continues to build on its reputation as a world-class sporting destination, and today at the Emirates Arena, Andy Butchart and Asha Philip were in attendance to share their feelings ahead of the championships.

The competition will be the second major European event held in Glasgow within twelve months after a hugely successful inaugural European Championships last August. Glasgow continues to receive global recognition for this reputation with a coveted top five ranking as a sporting destination.

British 5000m runner Butchart has turned in some superb performances at the highest level in sport, most notably, at the Olympic Games in 2016 and at the IAAF World Championships in 2017.

The Stirling-born runner will have his sights set on clinching success in front of a home crowd next month as he comes off the back of a major injury which meant the 27-year-old was forced to rule himself out of last year’s Commonwealth Games.

Glasgow 2019 will present a real opportunity to not only perform but a chance clinch success in front of a home crowd.

“The Emirates Arena will be the place to be in early March,” said Butchart. “I’ll put on a good show along with the other Scottish athletes and give the crowd something to cheer about. Super excited to get on the track and race in front of a home crowd.”

The Emirates Arena, built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, has a capacity of 5000 and is one of the largest indoor sports venues in Europe hosting a diverse range of sporting events throughout the year.

GB sprinter Philip has had nothing short of a fantastic career. She sparked her athletic journey by rewriting the history books as a teenager, as she became the IAAF World Youth Indoor Champion in 2007.

Since suffering a career-threatening cruciate injury, which meant she was unable to take part in any physical activity for two years, she has made an incredible return.

Philip now holds a wealth of titles to her name and can proudly say she is an Olympic bronze medallist and European Indoor 60m champion, currently holding the national record across that distance, to name just a few.

“Now that we’ve officially passed one-month-to-go milestone until the European Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2019, my excitement levels are very high as I am sure the rest of the athletes are too,” said the Commonwealth gold medallist.

“To have the opportunity to compete at a fantastic event in a world-class venue in front of a home crowd is something that I can’t wait for. The competition will be tough for all athletes, my aim is to keep working hard to make sure I give myself the best chance of arriving in Glasgow in top condition ready to compete for a medal.”

The European Athletics Indoor Championship Glasgow 2019 is guaranteed to give spectators unmissable entertainment.

The full competition schedule is live on glasgow2019athletics.com and with tickets selling out fast, make sure you grab yours for your favourite event.

The post Glasgow 2019: Andy Butchart and Asha Philip mark one month to go appeared first on Fast Running.