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A year after winning U18 gold, @jakeheyward7 wins U20 1500m gold!

No treble for Jakob Ingebrigtsen who fell with 300 metres remaining. pic.twitter.com/xrd9eJySpa

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 22, 2017

 

By Owen Morgan

 

Welsh 1500 metre runner Jake Heyward struck gold in Italy at the weekend to help Great Britain equal their best ever haul at a European Junior Championships.

The 18-year-old Cardiff AAC athlete upset the form book having gone into the European Under-20 Championships in Grosseto ranked 10th.

Indeed, last year’s Carwyn James Young Sportsman of the Year had to settle for fourth place in his heat last Thursday behind teenage middle distance sensation Jakob Ingebrigsten, who was going for a hat-trick of titles at the championship.

The younger brother of Norwegian former European Champion middle distance runners Henrik and Filip, Ingebrigsten has attracted much publicity this season for his performances on the Diamond League circuit.

In May he became the youngest athlete to run a mile in less than 4 minutes, when he finished in 11th place in the Diamond League at Haywards Field in Eugene, USA.

And less than a month later he ran almost two seconds faster, when he won a mile race at iconic Bislett Games in Oslo with the time 3:56.29.

But in Saturday’s final in Grosseto, it was Heyward, last year’s under-18 European 1500 champion, who took the race by the scruff of the neck early on.

From the gun the young Welshman shared the lead with fellow Brit Archie Davis, staying clear of some of the bumping and barging going on behind them, while Ingebrigsten also sought to stay out of trouble by bringing up the rear.

With 500 metres to go, Heyward was still out in front as Ingebrigsten started to move up through the field in what was a relatively slow paced tactical race.

But as Hayward started to up the pace and turn the screw at the head of the field, Ingebrigsten stumbled and hit the track, perhaps now regretting his over elaborate celebrations on the way to winning his heat. Pride coming before a fall and all that.

Although the Norwegian quickly got back to his feet and carried on running, Heyward was now pulling clear at the front.

Spaniard Adrian Ben tried to challenge coming off the final bend, but the Welshman kicked again to show an impressive turn of speed in the final straight to pull away for a relatively comfortable win ahead of the fast finishing Belgian Dries De Smet.

Heyward, who beat Neil Horsfield’s 33-year old Welsh U-20s 1500m record earlier in the season, even allowed himself the luxury of a modest double thumbs up celebration as he crossed the line to become a two-time European junior champion in a time of 3.56.73.

Heyward’s gold was one of 19 medals won by the Great Britain team during the championship.

Neath Harrier Hannah Brier had a hand in winning another British medal as part of the women’s 4×100 metres team.

The young Welsh sprinter was part of the British quartet which won their heat in a time of 44.50 to guarantee a place in the final.

Brier may not have been included in the final, where Great Britain finished third to claim the bronze medal in a time of 44.17, but she had more than played her part in getting them there.

Kristian Jones, the third Welsh athlete taking part in the Championships, almost helped great Britain win a 20th medal in the men’s 4x100m final.

The British quartet won their heat in a fast time of 39.38 to set themselves up nicely for the final later in the afternoon.

Running the third leg in the final, Jones kept the British team well in contention going into the final leg, but they eventually finished fourth in a time of 39.67, missing out on bronze by just 0.08 of a second.

Winners Germany set a new European U-20 record while Italy and Spain in second and third respectively each broke their national records.