30 July 2010

For results visit the Sportsresult website

In a ‘Fantastic Friday’ evening for the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team, there was a stunning six-medal haul including a brilliant 110m hurdles gold for Andy Turner.

There were also surprises in store as the team was swept up in a medal winning habit that washed across the camp.

Andy Turner (Coach: Lloyd Cowan) ran a storming 110m hurdles race to take a memorable European Championship gold in a wonderful evening for the Sale Harrier.

The 2006 bronze medallist put aside his years of frustration and run a superb race, his ice cool technique and disposition putting pressure on Czech athlete and race favourite Petr Svoboda who slammed a hurdle midway, yet Turner remained technically sound and burst through the line with his arms aloft – so confident he had taken the win.

His 13.28 marked not only a season’s best, but just one hundredth from his personal best, and showed he had made great progress ahead of Hungary’s Daniel Kiss in second in 13.34.

“I just smelt the gold medal!” he said straight after. “You just find that extra gear. I’m just lost for words right now.

“This whole champs has been amazing, MLF – I loved that! Mo and Chris, that got all the team fired up and then obviously Phillips and Martyn last night were amazing.

“All the other medalists so far have sent shivers down my spine, so I just wanted that so bad.”

However teammate and 2009 World championship fourth placer William Sharman (George Maciukiewicz) exited the competition earlier in the evening courtesy of a false start in his, the first of the two semi finals.

“False start. No excuse I false started,” he conceded after. “I found it an exceptionally long hold, I felt the Polish guy twitch and I couldn’t hold myself anymore.”

In the men’s 400m final Michael Bingham (Ken Harnden) and Martyn Rooney (Nick Dakin) showed huge improvement on their semi finals to run tactically brilliant races from testing outside lanes.

Rooney, long legs cramped in lane one and Bingham, running blind in lane eight were forced to make every stride count in a race where the medallists rarely come from lanes one and eight. Yet their will was more powerful than the statistics and they followed race winner – Belgian Kevin Borlee – across the line to take silver (Bingham) and bronze (Rooney) – both clocking 45.23.

In reflecting, both were pleased to have medalled but identified where improvements could be made.

“I should run a more even race,” said Bingham. “It was hard because I didn’t see anyone till the last fifty. I think I’m a lot fitter than the guys but I just didn’t run the right race.

“At the end of the day I’m not too upset as I’ve still got a silver medal, if I’d have got bronze I would’ve been more upset but silver is silver.”

Rooney was also honest with his appraisal: “To come out with a medal when in all honesty I ran a poor semi final… I haven’t run my own races since I’ve been here,” he admitted.

“Then I ran my own race tonight and came out with a medal. I didn’t realise it was so close. As soon as I had crossed the line I didn’t realise where I was, first or last!”

 One athlete more pleased with his day’s work this evening was Christian Malcolm. Malcolm, (Dan Pfaff) might have been the second GB sprinter to take silver behind the superb Frenchman Christophe Lemaitre- who also took the 100m ahead of Lewis Francis-, but his medal winning performance was truly outstanding as he pressured the youngster all the way, just losing out as they dipped across the line in 20.37 and 20.38 respectively.

For Malcolm, who has had a rollercoaster career since winning world junior sprint titles over 100m and 200m, it marked an excellent return to form, and although it would have been tough to see the gold slip away by one hundredth of a second, can take solace in a creditable championship campaign.

“That feels good. Great, amazing,” he said. “I nearly had him, I told myself tonight if Christophe Lemaitre wants to win he’s going to have to work hard for it. And I made him work!

“Now bring on the Commonwealth Games. I can’t wait!”

In fourth, was teammate Marlon Devonish (Tony Lester), his position truly creditable considering his late addition to the individual 200m, but obviously disappointing to have missed out on once again making the European Championship podium with a 20.62 behind France’s Martial Mbandjock on 20.42.

“I wish him (Christian) all the best, I’ve got a lot of time for Christian. I just wish I was in the mix for medals,” he said.

“The race was ok but I’m having problems with my stomach but I just tried to keep that to the back of my mind.”

In the women’s 400m hurdles, GB had two finalists and hopes were high that one might be able to break through into a podium place.

Setting up her blocks in the shadow of a celebrating Bingham and Rooney, Perri Shakes-Drayton (Chris Zah) was forced to focus solely on her preparations, despite the ever excited British contingent in the crowd.

It was good concentration practice for the Victoria Park and Tower Hamlets athlete who was drawn in the lane outside title favourite Natalya Antyukh, and sure enough, the position proved to be a help rather than a hindrance.

Undertaken by the more experienced athletes around the final bend, Shakes Drayton saved her best until last, and in the dying stages, took the last set of hurdles well in fifth and ran herself into the bronze medal position with 54.18.

She was exuberant as always post race: “That is wicked. I said fifth would be great and I got bronze. I got a medal!

“I am so chuffed. I kept saying to myself ‘get to the final’. Then I was in lane seven so I just had to go for it and I did. I’m very happy I’ve got to say I am over the moon with that performance. I’m happy it means all my hard work has paid off.”

Unfortunately for Eilidh Child (Stuart Hogg), her 55.51 meant she finished in eighth place, after suffering with her stride pattern midway through:

“I felt comfortable and good but then I lost my stride and it all went a bit wrong after that.”

Antyukh won the race in a championship record of 52.92, with Bulgaria’s Vania Stambolova in second with a national record of 53.82.