John Travers advances to men's 1500 metre final at European Athletics Indoor Championships

A lengthy appeal has seen Ireland’s John Travers advanced to the final of the men’s 1500 metres at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, after a bizarre incident put paid to his original chances barely three seconds in his semi-final, writes Will Downing.

A recall gun clearly went off immediately after the start of Travers’ semi, distracting all the athletes - but most particularly, Travers and Spaniard Marc Alcalá, both of whom reduced to almost a walking pace.