Sam Reardon, Laviai Nielsen, Alex Haydock-Wilson and Amber Anning brought home Team GB’s first athletics medal on the track as they claimed bronze in the mixed 4x400m relay.

World silver medallists last year in Budapest, Britain produced a national record to take bronze in a bouncing Stade de France.

Reardon (Nigel Stickings, Blackheath & Bromley), Nielsen (Tony Lester, Enfield & Haringey) and Haydock-Wilson (Earl Herbert, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) had run in the heats, with Anning (Chris Johnson, Brighton & Hove) coming in for Nicole Yeargin (Vince Anderson, Pitreavie) in the final.

And they were in contention throughout, eventually finishing with a time of 3:08.01, taking bronze behind champions the Netherlands and the USA.

Reardon said: “It’s a dream come true. We came here wanting to get a medal and that is exactly what we did. I’m over the moon for all of us.”

Anning was chasing University of Arkansas teammate Kaylyn Brown on the anchor leg, with the Netherlands’ Femke Bol overhauling them both on the final straight.

She said: “I saw my teammate in front of me so I wanted to keep pushing but I knew Femke was coming. I just didn’t want to let off, they had done the job but I just had to finish it off. I wanted a medal and I was just doing my part in getting there. I’ve got a great team and all I could do was finish what they had started.”

Nielsen, meanwhile, paid tribute to the part that Yeargin had played in helping the team reach the final, saying: “I saw Nicole in the crowd and the first thing I said to her is your are an Olympic bronze medallist. She’s a big part of this team, Amber is one of our strongest legs but without Nicole, we wouldn’t be here. So shout out to her as well.”

And Haydock-Wilson echoed his teammates’ thoughts after getting a first Olympic medal.

He said: “I feel like there is nothing I can say that is more powerful than what these guys have said. I’m just really proud of the team.”

Elsewhere, Daryll Neita (Marco Airale, Cambridge Harriers) made it to her second successive Olympic 100m final, narrowly missing out on a medal with fourth.

Having come through her semi-final in a time of 10.97 (+0.2m/s), Neita ran 10.96 (-0.1m/s) in the final, missing out on bronze by four hundredths to the USA’s Melissa Jefferson, with Julien Alfred of St Lucia taking gold and Sha’Carri Richardson silver.

Neita was understandably disappointed at coming so close to a medal.

She said: “It’s super tough – words can’t describe how I’m feeling right now.

“I was so close to that medal I was dreaming of for my whole life.

“I was super competitive and at least I can bring this into the 200m now (heats are on Sunday).

“I’ve got to carry this feeling that I have not the 200m – it’s bittersweet as I was so close to a medal.”

Earlier in the evening, Dina Asher-Smith (Edrick Floreal, Blackheath and Bromley) and Imani-Lara Lansiquot (Ryan Freckleton, Sutton & District) both went out at the semi-final stage.

Asher-Smith ran 11.10 (+0.1m/s) to finish fifth in the first semi-final, while Lansiquot went 11.21 (-0.1m/s) for the same position in the second.

Last, but not least, George Mills (Thomas Dreißigacker, Brighton Phoenix) held his nerve in the first British action of the evening to book his place in the semi-finals of the 1500m.

Competing in the repechage, Mills needed a top-three finish in the second heat to join Josh Kerr and Neil Gourley in making it through.

He left it very late, but grabbed third spot in a time of 3:33.56, and there was a little relief after the race.

He said: “It’s a 1500m race, so I waited as long as I could and tried to be patient, saving as much energy as possible for the home straight. I came through in the last 10 metres or so.

“We live to fight another day. Yesterday was shocking from me, shocking. I saved my worst race of the year for my Olympic debut. What can you do? I’ve got a great support team around me and they got me in the right place for today. My coach devised a plan, I followed that plan, and we made it.

“I pride myself on being level. There was a lot of pressure on today, because if you go out you look like a bit of an idiot. I managed to pull through, the finest of margins, my family and friends were probably stressed as hell watching.”