by Stuart Weir
Niahm Emerson and Katerina Johnson-Thompson, silver and gold, photo by Getty Images/European Athletics
Laura Muir and Melissa Courtney, photo by Getty Images/ European Athletics
This is the status report of British athletes after day 1 in the Glasgow 2019 Indoor Champs. Thanks to Stuart Weir for his amazing corverage of the championships for us.
Brit watch
I haven’t seen a GB medal target but if there was one, I think it would be to equal if not beat the 10 medals (5 golds and 5 others) gained in Belgrade, two years ago.
There was a great start medal-wise on day 1.
Gold Laura Muir 3000m, Katarina Johnson-Thompson Pentathlon
Silver Niamh Emerson Pentathlon
Bronze Melissa Courtney 3000m
Beyond that it was a day of ups and downs for the host nation.
All three British athletes progressed to the final of the 3000m with Chris O’Hare winning his prelim and Andrew Butchart finishing second in his.
Laura Muir won her 1500m race comfortably in 4:09.29. In the men’s 1500m Neil Gourley won his prelim with Robbie Fitzgibbon also going through.
Chris Baker’s 2:25 and Morgan Lake’s 1.93 were enough for both to make the high jump final comfortably
In the 800m all three GB men and women progressed to the semi-finals: in the women’s, Adelle Tracey, Mari Smith and Shelayna Oskan Clark. In the men’s team captain, Guy Learmonth, running with a broken hand, Jamie Webb and Joe Reid.
2019 European Athletics Indoor Champs, photo by Getty Images/European Athletics
A number of athletes did not progress to the next stage
The women’s 400m was a disappointment with the experienced, Zoey Clark, by her own admission got her tactics wrong and was fifth in the prelim. 18 year-old, Amber Anning, was third in the prelim just missing out on the semis. Eilidh Doyle made the semis but was eliminated there. Owen Smith and Cameron Chalmers were eliminated in the men’s semis.
Jemma Reekie (just 20) ran a PR of 4:13.44 for sixth place in her prelim. While Sarah McDonald was third in her race, it was the slowest of the three races with only two automatic qualifiers. Eliot Giles, more of an 800 runner, contested the 1500m but did not make the final.
Sam Atkin ran a PR in the 3000m, but did not make the final.
Naomi Ogbeta was ninth with 13.80m in the women’s triple jump, missing out on the final eight by 2 centimeters. Twelve years after winning silver at the 2007 European Indoor Championship, Nathan Douglas will take his place in the 2019 final after gaining the final spot in qualification. Feron Sayers failed to make the men’s long jump final.
Sophie McKinna, who in 2018 was fifth in the Commonwealth Games and seventh in the European (outdoor) championships, failed to make the shot put final as did Amelia Strickler.
