Disappointment for Britton as 40-year-old takes title

Ireland's Fionnuala Britton had to make-do with eighth place as 40-year-old Jo Pavey made athletics history in Zurich this evening.

The English athlete became the oldest female European track champion ever by winning the 10,000m title on the opening day of the European Athletics Championships.

A slow-paced 10,000m final at the Letzigrund saw the leading 20 athletes bunched all the way through until the pace accelerated with three laps remaining.

By this stage, one of the favourites - Sophie Duarte of France ­ had pulled up with an apparent thigh strain with six laps remaining.

Britton endeavoured to stay up, but progressed no higher than sixth in the closing stages as a four-woman breakaway of French pair Clémence Calvin, Laila Traby, Portuguese ace Sara Moreira and Pavey broke away.

By the final 200 metres, it was down to Pavey and Calvin, and remarkably, Briton Pavey broke clear to win - a month shy of her 41st birthday.

Britton surged late, but weighed in with an eighth-placed spot. It’s a big week for the Wicklow athlete, as her debut marathon comes on Saturday.

The twice European individual cross-country champion said: “I was looking for a medal in that one so I’m disappointed.

“Maybe in a way I didn’t run the race I should have if I wanted a medal out of it.

“I’ve never run in a race like that before because any time I’ve been in a race and nobody wanted to go to the front, I’ve gone to the front to go pushing it.

“That wasn’t a tactic that was going to work for me today.

“It was a race where I had to be aware of everything that was going on and I suppose that’s a good thing.

“I was there when the move was made, I just couldn’t go with it. That’s the most disappointing part.

“I’m not sure on the day I could have done a whole lot different.”

History-making mother-of-two Pavey told BBC Sport: "I just can't believe it. I was finding it quite a long way - I was thinking, is this the right event?

"I'm really thrilled. I tried to do a controlled last lap, but when I got to the home straight I thought, just give it all you've got, so you don't regret anything."

Earlier, Mark English of Letterkenny and UCD AC enjoyed an encouraging victory in his first-round heat of the men’s 800m, overtaking Poland’s Artur Kuciapski on the closing bend, before taking the race in 1 minute, 47.38 seconds ­ seven-hundredths ahead of Kuciapski.

In an encouraging season of wins for English - triumphing at the Morton Games, Belfast International and European Team Championships in Tallinn among others ­ this was a chance to show he could do it on the biggest European stage.

Having got through a senior Championship round for the first time, English was satisfied, but knows there’s more to come: “I’m delighted. It kind of went how I thought it would go. My plan was to sit there in second or third place, whichever was easier.

“It worked out perfectly as a gap opened up with 120m to go. I passed Andrew Osagie, an Olympic finalist, and felt very fresh so I couldn’t ask for much more than that.

“I’m very confident. Every race has seen it snowball for me. Each one has been getting better for me since the Diamond League in New York, and that was a real indication of the level I can compete at.”

Osagie of Britain bowed out after finishing fifth in the heat to continue a torrid summer where he was disqualified in the same event at the Commonwealth Games.

And also out is Clonliffe’s Declan Murray, seventh in his 800m heat after clocking 1:50.01.

The first Irish athlete on track for the week, Thomas Barr, was wide awake from the start, comfortably cruising into Wednesday’s semi-finals of the 400 metres hurdles to continue a winning season that has seen him break the Irish record twice and even beat world champion Jehue Gordon at the Morton Games.

Waterford athlete Barr, ranked third in Europe going into these Championships, was rarely troubled in a heat where the first four would qualify automatically.

Instead, Barr was determined to be in the first one. winning in 49.79 seconds, having half a second to spare over Germany’s Felix Franz.

Barr knows he will have to quicken up in the semis, after Russia’s Denis Kudryatsev won his heat in a barn-storming 49.05.

The 21-year-old said afterwards: “I’m confident and happy with my run today.

“The only place I could ease off was in the last 80 metres. I’ll put in my trademark finish if I have to in the semi-finals!”

Referring to being first onto the track this morning, Barr admitted: “I hadn’t really thought about the 7am start until today, that was a little bit of a shock to the system but I can out to run it, hopefully win it and get a decent lane draw for tomorrow.”

Jason Harvey bowed out of the same event by finishing seventh in his heat in 51.91.

Both Irish competitors progressed in the men’s 400m, with previous European finalist Brian Gregan going through automatically and Richard Morrissey hanging on to progress as a fastest loser.

Dubliner Gregan finished third in a tough heat in 46.33 seconds, with Morrissey finishing sixth in a personal best 46.20 seconds ­ which was enough.

Gregan, who finished sixth in the 400m in Helsinki at the last European Championships two years ago when a groin injury struck him on the closing straight, admitted: “I had to get top four in that. I was ranked fifth going into the race, I had a really hard draw and finished third.

“That’s all I could ask for ­ to get top three. The other two guys were a metre or two ahead of me. I could have put the foot down and pushed it had I really wanted to but there was no point trying to kill myself. I shut down and got the automatic qualification.”

“It was hard work actually,” Morrissey said of his performance, adding: “I felt good for 300m and then tied up a little bit at the end, but it’s always good to get a PB, especially in a class race like that.

“I’m in the semi-final now and will have to see what I have left after I recover.”

Amy Foster had to wait before making it into the semi-finals of the women’s 100m, going through as a fastest loser.

The City of Lisburn sprinter was looking good for an automatic place in the next round until she was pipped on the line for fourth by bronze-medallist at the last Europeans, Lina Grincikaite of Lithuania.

The former European Under-23 champion clocked the same time as Foster, 11.51, but was given fourth with Foster fifth ­ the Irish athlete narrowly made it through as the fourth and last fastest loser, meaning Phil Healy of Bandon missed out by two-hundredths, finishing sixth in her heat in 11.53.

Foster, despite making it to the semis, was still annoyed by her final placing: “I’m not happy I didn’t get through on automatic qualification. I thought I could get top four. It’s unfortunate that both of us (Foster and Grincikaite) were given the same time and that it went in her favour.

“I had a good start, it was flat in the middle and I was coming again at the end.”

Healy, in her first senior Championships, was happy at how well she had done, but disappointed at narrowly missing out on the semis: “It was very close, only two metres out, two-hundredths of a second away from the last fastest-losers spot so it is gutting to come so close.

“To get to 11.51 was just the tiniest bit of a dip so I am gutted but to come to a senior major Championships at 19, I can’t really complain.”

Limerick hurdler Sarah Lavin was denied in the women’s 100m hurdles through, as she came through in eighth in 13.35 seconds.

“I couldn’t fault my first five hurdles,” Lavin said afterwards. “I went as aggressive as possible but I couldn’t control it I suppose and I hit two hurdles and they were gone from me then. You can’t do that in a senior championships.”

Barr, Foster, English, Gregan and Morrissey are all in semi-final action tomorrow, with the only morning competitor being Christine McMahon in the women’s 400m hurdles.