Norwegian wins his third straight European Indoor 1500m title, but women’s favourite fades to fourth as Revée Walcott-Nolan grabs first major medal of her career
While one 1500m final followed the expected script under the Friday night lights at the Omnisport Arena in Apeldoorn – with Jakob Ingebrigtsen winning his third consecutive European Indoor title in the men’s event – the women’s showpiece produced a shock as firm race favourite Georgia Hunter Bell finished out of the medals entirely.
The scene had been set for the Briton to win her first major title since making a fairytale return to athletics that brought European silver, Olympic bronze and a British record last year.
The pain of finishing one step away from the podium at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow 12 months ago had helped spur her towards that summer success and she appeared in prime position to add to her medal collection in the Netherlands.
Having moved to the front around the 500m mark, Hunter Bell looked in complete control of her destiny, shadowed by French athlete Agathe Guillemot and her fellow Briton, Revée Walcott-Nolan.
Midway through the final bend, however, the leader stuttered and her closing speed deserted her completely, with European bronze medallist Guillemot surging through to win in 4:07.23. Portuguese athlete Salomé Afonso grabbed silver in 4:07.66, while Walcott-Nolan just edged out her team-mate on the line in 4:08.45, the same time recorded by Hunter Bell.
Georgia Hunter Bell and Revée Walcott-Nolan (Getty)
“I don’t really know what happened,” said Hunter Bell. “I thought I would win today. I really locked up there at the end and I am not sure what happened there. I executed the whole plan until the last bit.
“I have had an ear infection and I can’t hear out of my left ear currently, but I felt physically okay. I wasn’t expecting that today and I am really gutted. Last year when I came fourth at the World Indoors that really fuelled me for the summer so, when I am done being sad about this, maybe I can take some positives from it. I am going to let myself be sad for tonight.”
Walcott-Nolan found herself at the opposite end of the emotional spectrum, the two-time Olympian who is part of the On Athletics Club Europe alongside George Mills winning the first major medal of her career one day after celebrating her 30th birthday.
“I am so happy!” she beamed. “Obviously silver or gold would have been nicer, but to come away with a bronze today from a couple of weeks ago when I didn’t think I would be racing indoors at all, I am really proud of myself.
“My coach told me to get up the front in the top two, and stay there, so that is what I was trying to do for the whole race: stick to the plan for as long as I can. If I die, I die, but at least I know I have given it a go, and it paid off.
“The atmosphere is so good. It was really pushing me that last 100m when my legs were going away from me; it kept me going. I will be celebrating with my friends for my birthday and then this. It means a lot.”
There was barely any time for Ingebrigtsen to celebrate yet another victory, given that he will be back in action tomorrow (Saturday) to begin the defence of his 3000m title, but he achieved the first part of his double with the minimum of fuss.
The Norwegian applied his traditional tactics of keeping right at the back of the field in the early stages, making the rest of his competitors wait to try and combat his inevitable surge to the front. That eventually came at the 700m mark and caused a mass reaction to the field behind. Ingebrigtsen never relinquished the lead and a closing 400m of 53.4 helped him hit the line in 3:36.56.
Though Frenchman Azeddine Habz and Portuguese Isaac Nader did try to make him work for it, they had to settle for silver and bronze in 3:36.92 and 3:37.10 respectively. Britain’s Neil Gourley, a silver medallist at these championships two years ago, admitted to having placed himself badly when Ingebrigtsen worked his way through and finished fourth in 3:38.29.
The other two track finals of the night came in the 60m hurdles and the women’s showdown produced one of the finest performances of the championships so far. It took a European record of 7.67, also a world lead, from Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji as she edged out Dutch star Nadine Visser’s 7.72 and the bronze medal run of 7.83 from Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska to take the first senior gold of her career.
The top men’s prize went to Jakub Szymanski of Poland in 7.43 as held the French duo of Wilhem Belocian (7.45) and Just Kwaou-Mathey (7.50) at bay.
Lieke Klaver was the centre of the crowd’s attention during the women’s 400m semi-finals. Following the morning disqualification of British medal contender Amber Anning, and defending champion Femke Bol’s decision only to compete in the relays, the path to gold has become clearer for the Dutch world indoor silver medallist.
She looks primed to seize her chance, clocking 51.15 to win the second semi-final and qualify fastest for the final, with Spain’s Paula Sevilla running 51.23 to win the first race. With Anning having run 51.01 in her heat, she will be left wondering what might have been.
Hungary’s Attila Molnar was the fastest qualifier for the men’s 400m final, winning the opening semi-final in 45.48 from the PB 45.99 of Frenchman Jimy Soudril. Poland’s Maksymilian Szwed won the second semi-final in 45.78 from Spain’s Iñaki Cañal (46.24).
In the field events, Bozhidar Sarâboyukov took advantage of defending champion Miltiadis Tentoglou’s absence to win the men’s long jump title in dramatic fashion.
The Bulgarian produced a closing leap of 8.13m that was enough to beat the fifth-round effort of Italian European silver medallist Mattia Furlani by a single centimetre. Spaniard Lester Lescay also reached 8.12m, in the second round, but finished third due to his poorer series.
The first gold medal of the evening went to Ana Peleteiro-Compaoré of Spain in the women’s triple jump, the European champion outdoors adding the indoor title to her CV and producing a European lead of 14.37m in round five to take victory. Romania’s Diana Ana Maria Ion secured silver with a final-round 14.31m, while Finland’s Senni Salminen snatched bronze with her last effort, reaching 13.99m.
In the men’s heptathlon, new European record-holder Sander Skotheim surged into the lead at the end of day one thanks largely to his high jump clearance of 2.19m, a championship best in the heptathlon. That put him on 3689 points, 42 ahead of previous leader Simon Ehammer. German Till Steinforth sits third on 3560.
Skotheim will have his sights trained on that continental mark of 6484 he set barely a fortnight ago but it won’t have escaped his attention that he is 62 points ahead of the Ashton Eaton’s total at the same stage when the American set the world record of 6645 in 2012.
There were no dramas for the main contenders during men’s pole vault qualifying for a final that will feature the 38-year-old former world record-holder who progressed with a clearance of 5.65m.
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