At the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Britain’s Neil Gourley earned the silver medal in the men’s 1500-meter event, while teammates Melissa Courtney-Bryant and Daryll Neita took home the bronze.
Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen set a fast pace, which Gourley tried to match, but the Norwegian held him back in the latter stages.
Neita finished third in the women’s 60-meter final with a time of 7.12 seconds.
GB’s first medal was won by Courtney-Bryant on Friday in the women’s 3,000-meter race.
In a stunning women’s pentathlon tournament, Belgium’s Nafissatou Thiam set a new world record with 5055 points.
How to watch the BBC’s coverage of the European Indoor Championships
In Istanbul, Keely Hodgkinson hopes to seize the moment.
Gourley gathers silver that is “essential.”
Gourley, who last week broke the British record in Birmingham, sprinted admirably to finish third behind four-time European indoor champion Ingebrigtsen in three minutes 34.23 seconds.
Ingebrigtsen achieved a championship record time of 3:33.95 after taking the lead early in the race and fending off Gourley’s attack in the closing stages. He will also try to defend his 3,000-meter title after winning both events in 2021.
Scot Gourley, who easily defeated France’s bronze medalist Azeddine Habz, earned his first medal at a major competition. However, fellow countryman George Mills was unable to recover after falling early in the race.
“I put myself in the appropriate positions and had faith that I could succeed, but I was simply defeated by a stronger opponent. I must accept that as a fact “Gourley, 28, said to BBC Sport.
The goal was to be in the lead so that I could respond to Jakob’s anticipated move, but today I just didn’t have it, he continued.
It was crucial for me to start winning medals since I hadn’t done that yet (winning a big medal).
In a BBC TV interview, Jessica Ennis-Hill said: “He did nothing improper. He ran the race flawlessly. He might feel delighted after the indoor season. It’s crucial, in my opinion, as we approach the summer.”
Neita chose to accept bronze.
British champion Neita entered the tournament ranked second fastest this season, trailing only global champion Mujinga Kambundji, who ultimately defeated the opposition in a commanding 60-meter final performance.
With a winning time of 7.00 seconds, the Swiss competitor tied the championship record. Ewa Swoboda of Poland finished second in 7.09.
Neita, who made a statement by winning her semi-final in 7.07, after a good indoor season in which she recorded a personal best time of 7.05 in Berlin in February, suffered from a delayed response time.
“Bringing a medal home is an incredible feeling. I’ve had a great time during the indoor season, but I’m not very pleased with this outcome “Neita, who last summer won medals from the Commonwealth and Europe, said.
“Key is consistency. I am aware of how fortunate I have been during this indoor season. Although I had hoped for more from today, I must be content with the bronze medal and be thankful.”
The 2017 European indoor champion Asha Philip, a teammate, was disqualified from the competition.
Award for Courtney-Bryant: “Emotional”
2019’s Glasgow European Indoor Bronze went to Melissa Courtney-Bryant as well, but this time it meant much more.
The Welsh athlete, whose Olympic dream was cut short by a devastating foot injury in 2021, shed a tear when she finished third behind German competitors Hanna Klein and Konstanze Klosterhalfen in Istanbul.
When Klosterhalfen’s pace-setting had eliminated all but the top three, Klein pulled ahead of her countrywoman in the last yards to win in a personal-best 8:35.87. Courtney-Bryant maintained her lead over the rest of the field to place third in 8:41.19.
The British athlete remarked, “This seems so more sweeter than Glasgow; it’s incredibly emotional in a positive way.
Following all that happened with my accident, it required a lot of faith and encouragement from my coach, my family, and my spouse for me to even be back here.
Hannah Nuttall, a fellow countrywoman, finished fifth in 8:46.30, a personal best.
Emine Hatun Mechaal of Turkey, who was farther down the field, confessed she knew 50 people who had died in the devastating earthquakes that devastated the country’s southern provinces in February after qualifying on Thursday.
