What can I say? For the past four days (as well as those preceding) I have been consumed by the European Indoor Championships in Torun. It has been 515 days since the World Championships in Doha came to a close, and it was a long, but worthwhile, wait.

In a sea of travel restrictions, sanitary protocols, testing procedures, limited on-site media and no spectators, the event somehow managed to go ahead smoothly. It’s a fantastic achievement and I can’t really believe it happened.
The athletes went – in record numbers – to run in Torun, and run they certainly did.

As an all-round athletics fan I’d even suggest they left the best session till last. It had everything, and as I have for the past three days, I’ve put pen to paper (or keys to a Word document) to share my thoughts on what we saw from a middle distance perspective.

Heroic Hodgkinson

The women’s 800m final came with a bit of history – it was the first time in European Indoors history that Britain had three women in the final. They came in the form of Keely Hodgkinson, Issy Boffey and Ellie Baker, all making their senior debuts in a British vest.

All three had impressed in their heats and semi-finals, and there were genuine medal chances on offer.
Thanks to her 1:59:03 now-former World U20 Record, Keely was the fastest on paper, but so many times that counts for little in championship racing, as had been witnessed in other races. Just nineteen years old, you might expect the pressure of going in the favourite to be daunting, especially with two strong Polish stars in Joanna Jozwik and Angelika Cichocka in the field.

But Keely took it in her stride, leading from (almost) gun to tape to take the gold medal in 2:03.88. She led from the second lap in a slow starting race (going through the mid-way point in 1:05.31), before putting a kick in with a 30.29 third lap, speeding up to end with a 28.28 final lap.

Despite their best efforts, the field could not catch her. It wasn’t just a win, it was a dominant and tactical win. There’s not much else to say other than she is a bloody good athlete!

Poland completed the podium with Jozwik taking silver and Cichocka bronze. Ellie Baker ran well to finish fourth, with Issy Boffey sixth.

She continues a strong tradition in the event, with previous winners including her mentor Jenny Meadows. She is also the youngest British European Indoor Champion in 51 years. What a statistic!

.@keelyhodgkinson only turned 19 last week but she mastered the 800m in #Torun2021! #Torun2021 pic.twitter.com/4dCLN4re4i

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) March 7, 2021

Webb Went For It

The men’s same over four laps also promised to be a cracker. It could almost be seen as a battle of the young guns against the old guard, with the line up comprising (comparative) veterans of the distance Adam Kszczot, Pierre-Amboise Bosse and Amel Tuka up against Jamie Webb and Poles Mateusz Borkowski and Patryk Dobek.

Jamie, who went in with the fastest time of 2021 and was looking to upgrade his silver medal from two years ago, took it out and led for the first three laps. It was a brave move, particularly after a fast semi-final, but ultimately he could not hold off the charge of the Polish trio, coming home in third for bronze.

It was a race of six athletes, but also a race of three Poles, with all looking good for victory as they approached the home straight. In the end it was Dobek who had the fastest charge for the line, crossing in a PB of 1:46.81, closely followed by Borkowski (1:46.90). Just 0.14 seconds separated the top three. Adam finished fourth. A changing of the guard of sorts.

I omitted Dobek from my preview, which was clearly an oversight! In my defence, five weeks ago he had never run an 800m. Not a bad progression! Again I must mention Mark Hookway, who messaged me after reading my preview to say he was looking forward to seeing how Patryk would won. He’s clearly got an eye for talent, which is no surprise given his success with Tonbridge AC.

BRONZE for @jamiewebb800!

A gutsy front-running display earns Jamie a podium finish and a second European indoor medal

absolutely smashing it at #Torun2021 pic.twitter.com/9hJEB5h5nw

— Team GB (@TeamGB) March 7, 2021

Keeping Up With the Ingebrigtsen (or not)

The 3000m men had the potential to deliver fireworks. Jakob Ingebrigtsen was looking to defend his title from Glasgow, but was about to run his fourth race in as many days after taking gold in the 1500m.

Not only that, a number in the field had run quicker this year than his PB. Would they go for it from the start to try and outrun the Norwegian? This seemed the only possible way anyone could claim victory.

As it turned out, no, they would not do this. In fact, they did the complete opposite and the race played straight into Jakob’s hands.

It was slow (VERY slow), going through the first kilometre in 2:44 and the second in 2:42. That’s 8:10 pace, over half a minute slower than the fastest in the field in 2021.

Then, just as one would expect, Ingebrigtsen put the burners on and was gone. There were valiant attempts to catch him by Belgian Isaac Kimeli and Spanish duo Mohamed Katir and Adel Mechaal, but they all fell short, with Kimeli taking the silver and Mechaal bronze.

It was no surprise they failed to catch the 20 year old; he closed in a 2:21 (yes, that’s not a typo) final kilometre, rewarding him with a second PB in two days (7:48.20). That 2:21 would place him eighth over that distance in Europe this year (thanks to Jon Mulkeen for that stat).

He also overtakes his older brother Henrik as the most successful of the Ingebrigtsen trio at the European Indoors with three golds and one silver.

Brits Andrew Butchart and Jack Rowe (another in his GB debut) finished in seventh and ninth respectively.

Elsewhere

It was a successful evening for the Brits elsewhere, with medals in both relays and both hurdles, and plenty of other noteworthy performances on the track and in the field. Here’s a whirlwind tour.

The men’s 4x400m relay team (Joe Brier, Owen Smith, James Williams and Lee Thompson) took bronze behind strong Dutch and Czech teams, the first medal Britain has got in the event since 2013. Credit to James for a very impressive leg, another athlete in his first GB vest.

In the final race of the Championships, the women went one better to take silver. They did so behind a Dutch squad that included individual gold medallist Femke Bol, who ran one of the all-time fastest indoor relay splits (49.99). The time of Zoey Clark, Jodie Williams, Ama Pipi and Jessie Knight was the third fastest by a British quartet.

A fantastic finish to the track events with a Silver medal in the women’s 4 x 400m!

Congratulations to @_ZoeyClark @Jodiealicia27 Ama Pipi and @Jessie_Knight #Torun2021 pic.twitter.com/ePXW86HKOu

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) March 7, 2021

It was a case of Sister Act in the 60m hurdles, with Cindy Sember and her older sister Tiffany Porter taking silver and bronze. I said yesterday that people who know me would know it’d be remiss to not mention Nadine Visser’s performance, and that is applicable again today. She defended her title with a PB and National Record of 7.77, which puts her =16th on the all-time list. A personal highlight of the Champs.

Andy Pozzi took silver in men’s equivalent, equalling his PB of 7.43. As expected, the heptathlon title was taken by European Record holder Kevin Mayer, scoring 6,397 points. The fight for the remaining medals was a much closer battle, and largely hinged on the 1000m that brings the seven events to a close.

In a chase for the bronze Dutchman Rik Taam was off like a rocket, at one point with an 80m or so gap on the seven others. He was rewarded with a PB (2:35.35, not bad after six events in two days), and a heptathlon PB, but finished in the agonising fourth place.

Jorge Urena and Pawel Wiesiolek took silver and bronze. As much as I love the multi events, there are others able to tell their story considerably more eloquently than I, so I shall leave it there. Other than to say kudos to Andreas Bechmann, who ran the 1000m with just one shoe.

Fin.

That was, as they say, that. A superb four days of competition that has certainly whet the appetite for the outdoor season and – hopefully – the Olympics.

Congratulations to European Athletics and the Local Organising Committee for managing to make it happen, and for providing excellent live results and live streams, including dedicated videos for every separate event. I would have been there if it had been permitted, but I have enjoyed watching at points four streams simultaneously on four devices.

Also, thank you for those who have read these round ups and previews, and to Fast Running for giving me the chance to share my track and field passion with others.

The post Curtain Call for a Terrific Torun appeared first on Fast Running.

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.

By the time the European Indoor Championships kick off on Thursday evening, it will have been 515 days since a major track and field championships took place. As a big athletics fan, I have waited a long time to say this – it’s Championships week!

Since then there’s been a postponed Olympics, cancelled European Championships, and twice-postponed World Indoor Championships. In a time of travel restrictions and closed borders, it feels an almost-impossible feat that the 36th edition of the European Indoors is going ahead as planned in Toruń, Poland between Thursday and Sunday.

No spectators and a significantly reduced media presence means this is the first major championships I will be watching from home since the Rio Olympics. But, in honest, I am just happy that extensive planning and COVID protocols have allowed it to go ahead. It’s not just going ahead, a record 733 athletes are registered to compete from 47 countries. Great Britain (for non-UK held editions) and Ireland are sending their biggest ever teams. Impressive, right?

It is also a special moment for a number of British athletes who are gaining their first British vest, making their senior debut or experiencing their first time racing for their country on the track. This alone makes it a worthwhile watch.

It has the potential to be a brilliant four days. To whet your appetite, I’ve run through what to look out for in the middle-distance races. To paraphrase Aerosmith, you don’t want to miss a thing. All race times quoted are for the UK and previews based on entry lists as of Tuesday afternoon.

Men’s 800m (Heats 18:55 Friday, Semis 18:25 Saturday, Final 17:25 Sunday)

Five men have entered the top-20 of the European All Time list this year. To put that into context, only four men did the same between 2004 and 2020. Three of those men – Jamie Webb, Andreas Kramer (Sweden) and Mariano Garcia (Spain) will be in Torun, with the other two (Elliot Giles and Charlie Grice) focusing on the outdoor season.

They are not the only noteworthy athletes competing – 18 men on the entry list have run sub-1:47 this year, and the previous edition’s podium return (Spain’s Alvaro De Arriba, Jamie and Ireland’s Mark English), as does 2015 bronze medalist Dutchman Thijmen Kupers.

2017 World Champion Pierre-Ambroise Bosse (France), reigning European U23 Champion Mateusz Borkowski (Poland) and Bosnia’s two-time World Championship medalist Amel Tuka also compete and have set indoor PBs this year. Guy Learmonth also goes for Great Britain, fresh off a 1:46.73 iPB this year.

However, for me at least, the standout athlete is Adam Kszscot. Until writing this, I hadn’t fully appreciated his track record – Adam is reigning World Indoor Champion and is undefeated at every European Indoor and Outdoor Champs he’s competed for 10 years, with three outdoor (2016, 2016, 2018) and three indoor (2011, 2013, 2017) titles.

His season best (1:45.22) is third fastest of the field this year, and his fastest indoors in seven years. With his Champs record and being on home turf, you’d be brave to bet against him. I am not that brave.

Women’s 800m (Heats 12:00 Friday, Semis 18:00 Saturday, Final 17:13 Sunday)

I mentioned earlier that this Championships was an opportunity for athletes to compete on the “big” stage for the first time. The 800m exemplifies that, with Keely Hodgkinson, Issy Boffey and Ellie Baker all making their British senior debuts. Not only that, there is a serious chance for at least one to take home a medal. Keely is over a second faster this year than any of the other 40 entrants with her 1:59.03 which, until last weekend, was the (yet-to-be-ratified) World U20 Record.

As I wrote at the time, Issy’s 2:02.45 for third at the Boston edition of the World Indoor Tour was a personal highlight of the meeting and I’m excited to see what she will do this weekend. They will have strong competition from across the Irish Sea, though – of those on the entry lists, three of the top seven fastest in 2021 are in Ireland’s team. Such is the strength of Irish 800m running this year that 2:01.67 was not fast enough to book a spot in Torun.

Síofra Cléirigh Büttner and Nadia Power have traded the Irish National Record this year, both running sub-2:01. Nadia has looked at home on the World Indoor Tour this season, whilst Síofra has experience at the outdoor World and European Championships. They are joined by Georgie Hartigan after her equally impressive 2:01.48 in Dublin a fortnight ago.

Competition is likely to come from home-stars Joanna Jowzik and Angelika Cichocka, alongside Norway’s Hedda Hynne. Interestingly, only one of the finalists from the previous edition (Belgium’s Renee Eykens) is in the field. I am genuinely excited for this race!

Issy Boffey. Credit: James Rhodes

Men’s 1500m (Heats 19:20 Thursday, Final 20:35 Friday)

If you were to ask me to sum up the 1500m in three words, I would say “Jakob versus Marcin”. I am of course referring to Marcin Lewandowski and Jakob Ingebrigtsen. A battle of the ages, literally – Jakob was only nine when Marcin won his first European Championships. The Norwegian tends to get the overarching share of plaudits from pundits, but I wouldn’t describe him as the out-and-out favourite just yet. I won’t dwell on either’s achievements, but it’s hard to not mention a few stand out moments.

Jakob famously won a 1500m-5000m double at the last outdoor Europeans, is reigning European Indoor Champion over 3,000m and has won the Junior Race at the last four European XC Championships. Plus, he went second on the 1500m all-time list with a staggering 3:31.80 in Lievin last month.

Marcin’s career is equally as decorated, his resume including three-time European Indoor Champion (twice over 1500m and once over 800m), bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships, and silver at the 2018 World Indoor Championships. He too has run a PB and NR (3:35.71) this season. Marcin has the upper hand in their head-to-heads (2 to 1), including in this race in 2019, and again on home turf I’d not bet against him.

If you assume the first two spots on the podium are decided, the battle for the remaining is more open, with GB’s Neil Gourley next up of the European lists after his 3:35.79 PB in Toruń last month. Spain’s Jesus Gomez, who took bronze behind Marcin and Jacob, Poland’s Michael Rozmys, Czech Filip Sasinek (2017 bronze) and Jakob’s older brother Filip Ingebrigtsen also feature.

It is also great to see Cardiff Met’s Piers Copeland and Brighton Phoenix’s Archie Davis getting their first senior British vests. His clubmate George Mills is entered as a non-travelling reserve.

BACK TO TORUŃ

Grateful to be selected for the European Indoor Championships on this track next week in Poland

Can’t take any championships for granted anymore so I can’t wait to toe the line in this one

Congratulations, as well, to everyone selected Let’s do this! pic.twitter.com/Xoe4hoQxrA

— Neil Gourley (@Neil_Gourley) February 22, 2021

Women’s 1500m (Heats 11:22 Friday, Final 18:50 Saturday)

In the absence of both all members of the 2019 podium and the two fastest women this year, the 1500m is another that is hard to call. Belgian Elise Vanderelst leads on time, with 4:05.71 in Lievin last month, closely followed by Hanna Klein (Germany) and Spanish duo Esther Guerrero and Marta Perez. Elise is the youngest of the four and lacks senior-level experience compared to the others (although did take silver at the last European U23 Championships behind Jemma Reekie).

Steeplechaser Gesa Krause certainly isn’t lacking in experience, with two World and three European Championships medals. However, she hasn’t raced a 1500m at a Championships since 2015 and her four 1500ms this year have delivered mixed results. British Indoor Champion Holly Archer will be making her Great Britain debut, thanks in part to an excellent 4:10.03 in Manchester last month, an outright PB, and her win at the trials event.

Friday will also be the first time Katie Snowden dons a senior British vest, having represented England over the same distance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. They go in sixth and eighth fastest this year in the field, and so anything could happen. Ciara Mageaan has unfortunately withdrawn from the Irish squad this week.

Men’s 3000m (Heats 10:25 Saturday, Final 16:52 Sunday)

If you were to ask me to sum up the 3000m in three words, I would say “Jakob versus Marcin”. Wait, I have a sense of déjà vu. No, in fact, both Marcin Lewandowski and Jakob Ingebrigtsen are down for the difficult-but-not impossible double.

If Marcin wins, he’ll be the first athlete to have European Indoor titles over 800m, 1500m and 3000m. If Jakob wins, he’ll retain his title from Glasgow two years ago. Both could happen. Tactics aside, this is the hardest of the men’s races to call on paper. Six men have run sub-7:45 this year, headed up by Spain’s Mohamed Katir, Frenchman Jimmy Gressier (reigning 5,000m and 10,000m European U23 Champion, although you definitely know him better for his failed knee slide celebration at the 2018 European XC Championships) and Scot Andrew Butchart.

Andreas Almgren (Sweden), Mike Foppen (Netherlands) and Isaac Kimeli (Belgium) have also run sub-7:45 this season and could feature, as could 2017 European Indoor Champion Adel Mechaal. After a withdrawal from Marc Scott, who has decided to stay in the USA, Leeds City’s Phil Sesemann gets his first British vest on the track. He’s noted it as a career highlight, and I am chuffed for him, especially given his focus for this year at one point was the marathon. He’ll be joined by AFD’s Jack Rowe, also making his GB track debut.

Been going at this a few years now so absolutely delighted to be called up for my first track GB vest.

I love so many aspects of this sport but it’s tough to top moments like this.

I cannot thank all those who have supported me along the way enough. https://t.co/Qn9USoMXQu pic.twitter.com/yFrl29WEH0

— Phil Sesemann (@philsesemann) March 1, 2021

Women’s 3000m (Heats 18:30 Thursday, Final 20:00 Friday)

With the two fastest Europeans of 2021 (Sifan Hassan and Melissa Courtney-Bryant) and reigning champion Laura Muir not competing, the women’s 3000m is another with a somewhat open field. On paper and based on times alone (via the World Athletics website), the charge would be led by Slovenia’s Maruša Mišmaš-Zrimšek (8:48.82), Maureen Koster of the Netherlands (8:49.63) and our own Verity Ockenden (8:51.63), with times run in Karlsruhe, Lievin and Manchester respectively.

Of course, times rarely count for much in Championship races, but it would be fantastic to see Verity feature in what is her first major Champs. She will be joined by two athletes earning their first senior British vests on the track – Amy Eloise Markovc and Amelia Quirk. Based in the USA, Amy-Eloise ran a 8:54.1 split en route to breaking the British Record over two miles in Boston last month, whilst, if I am not mistaken, this will be Amelia’s second ever indoor track race after the trials last month. Quite a debut! Rosie Clarke is named as a non-travelling reserve.

Dutchwoman Jip Vastenburg, who is part of Steve Vernon’s Team New Balance Manchester squad, has run well in Karlsruhe and Manchester this year and could feature.
According to the entry lists, Israel’s Selamawit Bayoulgn and Romania’s Claudia Bobocea (who is entered for the 800m, 1500m and 3000m!) have both run sub-8:50 this year, but these times do not feature on the World Athletics lists for 2021. I guess we will find out on Friday.

All sessions will be shown live on the BBC.

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