GB&NI FINISH FIFTH IN A CLOSE FOUGHT FINAL DAY AT THE EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Great Britain & Northern Ireland team signed off their European Athletics Team Championships campaign with a string of determined displays, standout points and a welcome return for some of the squad’s top names — securing 5^th place overall in the First Division.

On her senior international debut Sarah Tait (Linda Smith, Lasswade AC) ran a gutsy race in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, clocking 9:49.24 to finish 2nd overall — just three hundredths behind Finland’s Ilona Mononen to claim 15 valuable points.

The Scottish record holder said; “It was great, I am really pleased with that. I did think I had the win just at the end there, I need to practice my dip – hindsight is a wonderful thing. It is all about the experience at the end of the day, so I will know next time. I am really pleased with that.

“I thought nobody is really picking it up and I just thought I would go. I thought I was clear, and I thought I had it, but I was just taken on the line. Hey, it is a bit bittersweet but it was a great experience and I am really pleased with it.”

Revee Walcott-Nolan (Thomas Dreissigaker, Luton) dug deep in the heat to clock 4:09.16 for 3rd in the women’s 1500m, running a sensible race in a big field of 16 to secure 14 points behind France’s Agathe Guillemot.

“I raced quite well, I just got a bit caught up with a lap to go which is where I really wanted to make a move so I had to stay patient and delay that. Then at 300 to go, I needed to kick as hard as I could.

“I was just a bit too far off those two girls at the front, which is annoying because they were the two that beat me at the European Indoors, so I really wanted to get them today, but I was just a bit too far off it at the bell.”

Toby Harries (David Sadkin, Brighton Phoenix) stepped down impressively from his usual 400m to run 20.25 (+1.8) for 3rd place in the men’s 200m. He held off Czechia’s Tomáš Nemejc and Spain’s Adria Alfonso to earn 14 points as the Netherlands’ Xavi Mo-Ajok took gold in a championship record.

Scott Lincoln (Dale Stevenson, City of York) left it late in the men’s shot put, saving his best for the final round with a 20.41m throw to finish 4th. He edged Ukraine’s Artem Levchenko to add 13 points as Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri topped the field.

Bekah Walton (Blackheath & Bromley) opened well in the women’s javelin, throwing 58.63m to finish 4th. An impressive feat considering she had surgery just five months ago on her throwing arm. She kept Italy’s Paola Padovan at bay to collect 13 points.

“It was really good, I opened well with my furthest throw, frustrating as I was hoping to build on that but it has been such a journey this year. I had surgery five months to the day, so this was a big ambition, so to come out here and perform well, I think that was one of my top furthest throws ever. Happy with that and know there is more to build on that.

Jazmin Sawyers (Aston Moore, City of Stoke) made a hugely welcome return from injury, reminding everyone of her world-class ability with a 6.75m (+0.1) leap to finish 6th in the women’s long jump. In her first major test back, in a world class field, she stayed ahead of the Netherlands’ Pauline Hondema to add 11 points as Italy’s Larissa Iapichino took the win.

“After almost 20 months off, I’m still getting used to the sort of intricacies of board discipline. We should be very, very good at it but it’s hard. I did well, 6.75 was a good jump and that was a tough field. I am glad to have made the cut, to have had a respectable jump in the first few rounds and to feel like I’m building towards the possibility of a world final later this year.

“At the start of the year I had a big ultimate goal of making the world championships, that hitting the qualifying for that so early means I have shifted my goals, but it means everything else is extra. While I wish it was a little bit further, especially for the team, I am really proud of how I’m doing.”

Daniel Bainbridge (Tom Dobbing, Shaftesbury Barnet) threw 73.12m for 7th in the men’s javelin, exceeding his seeding of 14^th where he went ahead of Finland’s Topias Laine and adding 10 points as Germany’s Julian Weber won with 85.15m.

David Mullarkey (Andrew Henderson, Leeds City) ran 13:53.31 for 8th in the men’s 5000m in the heat of Madrid. He sat in comfortably in third for the opening laps and stayed with the group until the pace quickened and stretched out the pack. He picked up 9 points on his senior international debut.

“The pace was a bit up and down and the heat made it interesting. It was super dry out there. It was a really great experience to be in the mix. Slightly disappointed, as I came here to try and compete with those top guys, I just lost it in the last lap a bit but that will come in the next few years.”

Archie Davis (Joel Kidger, Brighton Phoenix) clocked 3:41.26 to finish 9th in the men’s 1500m, adding 8 points for the team behind Portugal’s Isaac Nader.

On her second race of the Championship, after featuring in the 4x100m yesterday evening, Rachel Bennett (Anita Richardson, Sale Harriers) clocked a big PB of 22.87 (+0.8). Placing her an overall 10th once both women’s 200m heats were combined, adding 7 points as Spain’s Jaël Bestué took the win in a championship record.

Emily Borthwick (Wigan & District) cleared 1.70m in the women’s high jump to finish 16th overall once both pools were combined, contributing 1 point to the final team total.

The GB & NI mixed 4x400m relay squad of Sam Reardon, Lina Nielsen, Toby Harries and Emily Newnham rounded off the day with a season’s best 3:09.66 to secure 3rd place, clocking the same time as Italy in second, adding a final 14 points to wrap up the team’s final push.

The final day was nail-bitingly close between ourselves, the Netherlands and Germany for that third spot. With competition complete, GB & NI’s blend of big points and brave performances confirmed a strong 5th place overall — a result that sets up the rest of the summer in style.