European Athletics Championships 2024: George Mills & Romell Glave medal as Lamont Marcell Jacobs defends 100m title (2024)

Published

8 June 2024

Great Britain's George Mills won European 5,000m silver and Romell Glave clinched bronze in the 100m, as Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs successfully defended his sprint title on a golden night for hosts Italy in Rome.

Mills, 25, clocked 13 minutes 21.38 seconds to finish runner-up to Norwegian star Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who proved too strong in the closing stages to win in 13:20.11.

Glave ran 10.06secs to make the men's 100m podium as the British team won its first two medals on day two of the European Athletics Championships.

Home favourite Jacobs' 100m triumph in 10.02secs delivered table-topping Italy's third gold medal of the night - and fifth in the opening two days as a stunning start for the hosts continued.

Mills' impressive run for silver - his first major international medal - followed three fourth-placed finishes for British team-mates, as Cindy Sember, Jacob Fincham-Dukes and Scott Lincoln each fell narrowly short of a podium place.

The Briton, son of former England footballer Danny Mills, was denied gold only by 23-year-old Ingebrigtsen, who having sealed a third successive European 5,000m title, will now aim to complete a third straight golden double at the championships in the 1500m.

Mills said: "It is what I expected of myself. It is back to work now, I’ve got the rest of the season to prepare for. It’s progress, but we want more."

Sprinter Glave, 24, then held on for 100m bronze behind an Italian one-two, with Jacobs followed across the line by compatriot Chituru Ali (10.05secs).

Jacobs handled the expectation in front of his home crowd to deliver a golden finale for the hosts as he builds towards an attempt at defending his Olympic title in Paris, following an injury-disrupted period since his surprise triumph in Tokyo in 2021.

It was beginning to look like a night of near-misses for the British team, after Sember, Fincham-Dukes and Lincoln had gone close to medals.

Sember clocked 12.56secs for fourth in the women's 100m hurdles final, won by 23-year-old French athlete Cyrena Samba-Mayela - who ran 12.31secs to break a 38-year Championship record.

In the men's shot put final, Lincoln registered a best throw of 20.88m to finish six centimetres short of a medal, as Italy's Leonardo Fabbri produced a championship record of 22.45m for gold.

Fincham-Dukes finished fourth with a best attempt of 8.12m in a men's long jump final dominated by Olympic and world champion Miltiadis Tentoglou.

The Greek star, 26, clinched his third successive European title - and the 10th major championship gold of his career - by producing a championship record 8.65m leap with his penultimate attempt, which he then replicated with his final jump.

Italian 19-year-old Mattia Furlani set a world under-20 record with 8.38m for silver.

But Mills, who looked relaxed as he stalked Olympic favourite Ingebrigtsen, ensured he ended Britain's wait for a medal with a superb silver, before Glave - who in 2017 became the world’s fastest 17-year-old - added to that achievement.

Glave said: "I am grateful to be here and get the opportunity to showcase my abilities against the best in the world. That is one of my goals this year, competing against the best so I can go on to better things."

Team-mate CJ Ujah, who made a winning return to major international competition following a doping ban in his heat on Friday, did not qualify for the men's 100m final.

The 30-year-old, who was cleared of intentionally doping after his positive test cost Team GB Olympic men's 4x100m relay silver in Tokyo but served a 22-month ban, finished fifth in his semi-final in 10.24secs.

Tade Ojora was unable to make the men's 110m hurdles medal race with a time of 13.76secs in the semi-finals, with that event later won by Italy's Lorenzo Simonelli in 13.05 secs.

Also competing in the men's 5,000m were Britons James West (seventh in 13:24.80) and Jack Rowe (17th in 13:31.77) after an early fall.

British team captain Elliot Giles secured his place in Sunday's men's 800m final, finishing second in his semi-final in 1:46.50, but Thomas Randolph (1:49.18) missed out.

Elsewhere, Nafi Thiam clinched her third straight European heptathlon title in dominant fashion.

The Belgian, 29, showcased her form before targeting a third successive Olympic gold by beating Jessica Ennis-Hill's Championship record with 6,848 points, setting a personal best 2:11.79 in the concluding 800m to win by 213 points.

Jade O'Dowda, the only remaining British heptathlete following Katarina Johnson-Thompson's withdrawal due to a "small niggle" on Friday, finished seventh with a personal best tally of 6,314.

Sandra Elkasevic of Croatia made history as the 33-year-old won a record seventh consecutive gold in the women's discus with a best mark of 67.04m.

Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom took victory in the men's 20km race walk in one hour 19 minutes 13 seconds, as Briton Callum Wilkinson placed ninth (1:21:34).

World indoor champion Molly Caudery, 24, qualified safely for Monday evening's women's pole vault final, where she will seek to win the first major outdoor title of her career.

Caudery, the top-ranked women's pole vaulter in 2024 as she prepares for her first Olympic Games, cleared 4.50m with her opening attempt of the competition as she coasted through to the 12-athlete final.

“I was really, really happy to save some energy, do one jump and have my best preparation for the final," Caudery said.

However, hampered by a back issue, team-mate and Olympic bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw did not progress after failing at 4.25m.

Amy Hunt, 22, progressed to the women's 100m semi-finals which, along with the final, take place on Sunday night. She clocked 11.26 seconds for second place in her heat.

Jake Norris, making his senior debut, sealed his place in the men's hammer final on Sunday by qualifying in fifth overall with a best throw of 75.73m.

Mark Pearce will contest the men's 3,000m steeplechase final on Monday after finishing eighth in his heat in eight minutes 34.46 seconds, but Zak Seddon missed the cut in 8:28.50 after suffering a mid-race fall in his heat.

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