European Championships Munich 2022: Eilish McColgan wins bronze and Jake Heyward silver for GB

2 years ago 18

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Great Britain's Eilish McColgan won bronze in the 5,000m as Jake Heyward took silver in the 1500m at the European Championships in Munich.

Jazmin Sawyers also won a dramatic long jump bronze with her final leap.

McColgan's second medal of the games saw her finish behind Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen and Turkey's 10,000m champion Yasemin Can.

A late burst from Heyward saw him finish second to Norwegian favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

It was a fine run from Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen, 21, who controlled the race from the front and clocked a championship record of three minutes 32.76 seconds on his way to repeating the 1500m-5,000m European double he achieved as a 17-year-old in Berlin in 2018.

Welsh middle-distance runner Heyward, who was fifth at the bell, accelerated on the final bend to pass Spain's Mario Garcia, who took bronze.

Britain's fast-finishing Matthew Stonier came home in fifth, while Neil Gourley finished eighth.

McColgan adds to her medal collection

McColgan, 31, won 10,000m gold and 5,000m silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham after finishing in the top 11 of both events at the World Championships.

And while she appeared fatigued from her efforts in Monday's 10,000m final she clung on to home favourite Klosterhalfen and Can until the closing stages of the race.

Having opened a considerable gap over the rest of the field, it ensured a podium place was never in doubt and capped a superb season for the Scot..

"I was so tired," McColgan told BBC Sport.

"I don't know how I made it to the finish. I am so happy to come and win another medal. Those two girls were so strong in the middle section. To win another medal, I am lost for words. I could not do any more.

"I came into this year with only one outdoor medal and now I have collected another four. It is mad. I cannot believe it - this will be a year I will not forget for a very long time."

Asher-Smith leads the way for British sprinters

Earlier on Thursday, Dina Asher-Smith cruised into the final of the women's 200m.

The defending champion, who is looking to add to her collection of medals in major championships, powered clear on the bend and clocked 22.53 after easing down in the final 20 metres.

Fellow Briton Jodie Williams also qualified for Friday's final (21:22 BST), finishing second in her semi-final after producing a season's best of 22.92 in the afternoon heats.

British trio Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, Charles Dobson all advanced into the final of the men's 200m on Friday (20:20).

Hughes and Dobson both comfortably won their races, while Mitchell-Blake was made to work for his berth in the final as he finished behind Italy's Filippo Tortu in the third semi-final on Thursday evening.

More to follow.

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