European Indoors: Britain's Richard Kilty wins 60m gold
- Published
Britain's world indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty won European gold with victory in Prague on Sunday.
The 25-year-old clocked a season's best 6.51 seconds in a race where his main rival and team-mate Chijindu Ujah was disqualified for a false start.
Dina Asher-Smith secured 60m silver to become the first British female in 30 years to win a medal in the event.
The 19-year-old equalled the British record 7.08 to finish 0.03 secs behind champion Dafne Schippers.
"I was looking at the screen, begging that I'd grabbed a medal spot," said Asher-Smith, the 100m world junior champion. "I had no idea what was going on but I got a silver so I'm over the moon. The time is a bonus."
The final individual race of the day was expected to be a gold-medal showdown between Kilty and Ujah, only for the latter to falter in a nervous start.
"I felt the guy next to me twitched," said Ujah, 21. "I've never false started in my life. For that to happen here, I'm gutted."
With Ujah out of the race, Kilty - a surprise winner at the Worlds last year - was expected to claim gold and did so comfortably.
The Stockton sprinter told BBC Sport: "I had a difficult summer and there was a lot of pressure coming into this for me. It's an absolute honour, I'm on top of the world.
"I've been through tough circumstances in my life. It shows whatever background you're from you can make it. Anything is possible."
Steve Cram analysis on Chijindu Ujah |
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"There was a little bit of twitching around, but that happens - you just don't go. He was under a lot of pressure in these championships. It's the first time in his senior career he had to deliver. He has to go away and have a bit of a think. It's an experience he'll learn from. He's frustrated, of course he is, but that's the discipline of starting." |
In one of the day's most exciting races, Britain's Chris O'Hare held on to claim 1500m bronze with a season's best 3:38.96, while 21-year-old Charlie Grice clocked a personal best 3:39.43 to finish fifth.
Home favourite Jakub Holusa overtook Turkey's Ilham Tanui Ozbilen on the home straight to secure gold in front of a raucous crowd with a national record 3:37.68.
The women's 4x400m relay team - Kelly Massey, Seren Bundy-Davies, Laura Maddox and Kirsten McAslan - took Britain's medal tally to nine, good enough for third in the table, with silver but the men finished fifth in their 4x400m relay.
Jenny Meadows did not compete in the 800m final after a virus the 33-year-old Wigan athlete had been suffering with all week worsened overnight.
In the 2011 champion's absence, Switzerland's Selina Buchel won in 2:01.95 - a time the Briton has eclipsed four times this season.
Britain's Guy Learmonth (1:47.84) was sixth in the men's 800m, a race won by the overwhelming pre-race favourite Marcin Lewandowski (1:46.67) of Poland. Ireland's Mark English (1:47.20) took silver.
Elsewhere, the women's 1500m was a procession for Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands as she comfortably won in 4:09.04. Britain's Rosie Clarke, 23, was sixth in 4:16.49.
Sunday's gold-medal winners | |
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Selina Buchel (SUI) - women's 800m (2:01.95) | Ilya Shkurenyov (Rus) - heptathlon (6353 points) |
Marcin Lewandowski (Pol) - men's 800m (1:46.67) | Jakub Holusa (Cze) - men's 1500m (3:37.68) |
Yekaterina Koneva (Rus) - women's triple jump (14.69) | Anzhelika Sidorova (Rus) - women's pole vault (4.80m) |
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