Team GB have won three medals in Istanbul during the European indoor world championship with Neil Gourley claiming the men’s silver in the 1500m and teammates Daryll Neita and Melissa Courtney-Bryant both winning bronze.
Neil Gourley claimed men’s silver in the 1500m and teammates Daryll Neita and Melissa Courtney-Bryant both secured bronze.
Gourley entered the championship in his best form in years, confident of continuing his winning streak after setting a British record in Birmingham the week prior. Running an impressive race in Istanbul, Gourley chased the pace set by rival Ingebrigtsen right until the last sprint, but the Norwegian athlete ultimately came out victorious, leaving Gourley to settle with silver.
“It was important to win a medal, I hadn’t done that yet - winning a major medal - so it was important to get that started”, Gourley stated as he spoke to BBC Sport about his historic medal victory.
“I believed I could do it, I put myself in the right places and I just got beaten by somebody who was better. I have to take that on the chin,” 28-year-old Gourley told BBC Sport.
“I believed I could do it, I put myself in the right places and I just got beaten by somebody who was better”
Elsewhere in the championships, Daryll Neita ran a 7.12 second 60m final race, edging her into the bronze medal position. The former British champion was ranked second fastest this season heading into the event behind world champion Mujinga Kambundji who ended up claiming gold emphatically, equalling the all time championship record of 7.00 seconds. Poland’s Ewa Swoboda crossed the finish line second in 7.09, leaving Neita to settle for Bronze.
Neita claims that it was a slow reaction time from the start that cost her winning the championship considering she performed better in the semi-final race the day before with a time of 7.07. Expressing her disappointment, Neita said that “It feels amazing to bring a medal home. It’s been a fun indoor season and I’ve really enjoyed it but I’m not particularly happy with this result”.
Melissa Courtney-Bryant on the other hand defied all odds to claim bronze in the 3000m final, emotionally saying it was her “sweetest win” to date. The Welsh athlete had her Olympic dreams abruptly ended in 2021 after suffering a serious foot injury that has kept her out of competitions for almost a year.
Finishing behind German athletes Klein, who ran a remarkable personal best of 8 minutes and 35.87 seconds to win gold, and Klosterhalfen who claimed silver, Courtney-Bryant can be proud of her run, finishing well clear of the rest of the field to claim third with a time of 8 minutes and 41.19 seconds.
“After everything with my injury, just to be back here took a lot of belief and support from my coach, my family and my husband. This feels so much sweeter than Glasgow, it’s really emotional in a good way,” said the British athlete.