Teenager Kelly Hodgkinson claimed her maiden European senior title as the British team added seven medals to their tally to equal their best haul at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Toruń, Poland winning two gold, four silver and six bronze medals overall. The teenager, who only turned 19 on Wednesday, timed her move around the outside perfectly to take the lead with 250m to go and held her nerve as she ramped up the pace for the final lap.

Despite a late surge from Joanna Józwik (POL), Hodgkinson kicked once again to power across the line in 2:03.88 for her maiden senior title and become the youngest British champion at the event since Marilyn Neufville in 1970. After the race, Hodgkinson exclaimed: “I’m so happy. You never quite understand the shock when it happens. You picture it in your head so many times, but when the reality comes through, it’s just a different feeling. 

“I didn’t really think about the pressure. I am only 19 and I’m still learning and there’s still things that I’m going to learn. I just wanted to keep my same relaxed state like I did in the heats and the semi-final. Me and Trevor (Painter) talked about that and we said not to change anything for the final. I just didn’t want to make any mistakes and I really believed in myself. 

“They trust my instincts. They are really letting me grow into my athlete and Jenny’s Meadows experience is there to tap into if I need it. They said to me ‘just keep the same relaxed state and you’ll know how you feel and what to do’ and that’s what I did.” Teammate Ellie Baker narrowly missed out on bronze, crossing the line fourth in 2:04.40 after a last 50m burn up with Józwik and Angelika Cichocka, with Isabelle Boffey, also making her senior British debut, sixth in 2:07.26.

There was double relay delight for the women’s and men’s 4x400m relay teams as the women’s contingent secured silver in an impressive 3:28.20, with the men’s securing bronze in 3:06.70. Andrew Pozzi became the first British man to claim a medal at the championships as he claimed silver in the 60m hurdles final, equalling his personal best in 7.43s as he cut the tape.

It was a near-flawless run from Pozzi, who got out strongly and was level with France’s Wilhem Belocian at the halfway point. The Briton clipped the fourth hurdle before a lunge for the line saw him claim silver, just 0.01s away from taking the gold. Pozzi said: “It’s an equal PB. I was actually doing really well at the start, I just lost a couple of steps in the middle. It’s a championships and the better man won, so it is what it is. I’m a bit disappointed, but I gave it everything I could”.

In the women’s equivalent, sisters Cindy Sember and Tiffany Porter secured silver and bronze to boost the British medal tally, clocking 7.89s and 7.92s respectively as Nadine Visser of the Netherlands defended her title in a world leading 7.77s. A bold front-run from Jamie Webb in the men’s 800m final saw him rewarded with a bronze in 1:46.95 following a sprint-finish.

It all came down to a sprint finish for the Briton, who had led from the first lap of the race, but as Poland’s Patryk Dobek hit the front at the bell, Webb found himself having to hold off the challenge of Adam Kszczot (POL) and Mateusz Borkowski (POL) in the final 100m on the final bend. Webb gave it his all but could not hold off the challenge of Borkowski, who pipped him to silver on the line in 1:46.90, with Dobek notching a personal best 1:46.81 for gold.

In the men’s 3000m final, Andrew Butchart and Jack Rowe came home in seventh and ninth position respectively, clocking 7:52.15 and 7:53.47 respectively, a season’s best for the latter as they found themselves playing catch-up with Jakob Ingebrigtsen’s (NOR) speed. The British duo found themselves searching for space in the final four laps, being forced to settle for seventh and ninth respectively, with Norway’s Ingebrigtsen clocking 7:48.20 for gold.

Having set a personal best 1.91m in qualifying for the women’s high jump, Emily Borthwick cleared a best of 1.85m as she finished eighth on her maiden senior Championships. The Wigan & District athlete required a third time clearance at her opening height of 1.85m to progress, but three fouls at 1.89m signalled the end of the competition.

 

British medallists at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships:

Gold: Keely Hodgkinson (women’s 800m), Amy-Eloise Markovc (women’s 3000m)

 

Silver: Holly Archer (women’s 1500m), Andrew Pozzi (men’s 60m hurdles), Cindy Sember (women’s 60m hurdles), women’s 4x400m relay

 

Bronze: Verity Ockenden (women’s 3000m), Jodie Williams (women’s 400m), Holly Bradshaw (women’s pole vault), Tiffany Porter (women’s 60m hurdles), Jamie Webb (men’s 800m), men’s 4x400m relay