Day 1, Part 2 Athletics: European Indoor Championships

Welcome to Gothenburg in Sweden, a city with a sporting past to be

proud of. Back in 1958, it was up one of the host venues for the

football World Cup and the European Championships in 1992. Figure-

skating gold medals have been won here and stays but the world and

the European Athletics Championships and we are back again,

this time of the 32nd European Indoor Championships, an event

which has always gone well for the British teams.

COMMENTATOR: Coming away and looking full of fight. Linford

Christie takes the gold! Another 20 metres throw for Geoff

Capes. John Regis will get gold. And it is a new world indoor

record! Helen Clitheroe against the gold! De Jason Gardener is the

champion. It is called for Mo Farah. -- gold 4 Mo Farah.

So we are all set for the next chapter in these championships.

Gothenburg looking great in the sunshine but already chilly,

hosting the European Indoor Championships in 1984 and 1954,

with Christian also and the triple jumper hailing from the City, this

is a place with athletics in its blood. So welcome back to the

Scandinavium Arena. Robin Cousins won his medal here, the ice rink is

another track. The British team has been on song.

The quickest we have seen from join chambers for I don't know how long

-- Dwain Chambers. Holly Bleasdale sales over this time. Jenny Meadows

will win this one. It is bronze for Britain and Robbie Grabarz. It will

be a fight to the line here. Lots of big British names out this

afternoon, none more so than Dwain Chambers who goes in the heat of

the men's 60m, Jenny Meadows captaining the team, she is in the

women's 800m heats, semi-finals of the men's and women's 60m with

strong British representation. Laura Muir and then the finals of

the 60m hurdles towards the end of the programme. In the field, Holly

Bleasdale, Robbie Grabarz, the Olympic bronze medallist and Yamile

Aldama goes in the triple jump qualification. A couple of

superstars in the studio as well. Denise and Paula. Les hear from

deke mind at the new -- let's hear from the man at the top, Peter

Eriksson, taking over from Charles van Commenee.

Peter, it seems fitting, the head coach of UK Athletics in your home

country of Sweden for your first maiden championship. How does it

feel? It is great. I have not been home for many years. It is great to

come home and be the first championship, this is what to look

forward to, to be at the big event. I think we have a great team to do

well. You have gone for a team which has got people in their, top

six potential right across the board. Is that fair to say? Your

eyes, UK Sport and the lottery funding is investing in sport. A

young team, average age of 22 years. A good team and good coaching staff

and support staff so I am really positive. A lot of pressure coming

on to the team and we have so many youngsters but I do not see that as

a stumbling Stone for doing well. You can hope for a certain amount

of medals but I don't even go that way, by just try to get the best

out of the Bartlett. And that is what we will value. You had

fantastic success with the Great Britain Paralympics team, and a

Cockcroft says he is our friend as well as our coach but he knows when

to be scary as well! That sounds like a winning formula. I can be

tough when it needs to be tough. Otherwise you would be

steamrollered all the time. And too scared!

New head coach and new glasses, different from his other classes.

He is very different in demeanour from Charles van Commenee. Yes, a

very warm and friendly man. They have had quite a strict regime

under Charles van Commenee. Both men have very different approaches

but very different pressures. Charles was focused on the Olympic

success, the team had to do well so he had to be tough from the outset

so Eriksson, it is about making unity and addressing some of the

issues that were underlying, behind the scenes, behind the scenes with

the coaches and management and he had stride to Smith that as well as

bring up the best in the athlete. And the Paralympic athletes, they

had a very bad athletics competition in Beijing but he

turned it around for London. He s and made it one big family -- yes,

and made one big family. I think he is bringing people to have more

unity here and at the end of the day, an athlete wants to go out and

perform, they do not need to be bullied, they know what they need

to do. I would liked you have seen him give a few more people a chance

here, to go out and learn and grow. Although he is a new head coach, he

is still part of a system which is very much focused on the top end.

Not so much on letting athletes come and learn from the experience

of getting to a championships. is what we are witnessing here. It

would have been nice to fill some of the gaps. Not just let athletes

come for the sake of it but athletes and athletics are learning

processes. It is something you learn, you have to craft. It is a

daunting place out there for a youngster and unless you have the

opportunity to manage yourself in that environment, you will never

learn. You were particular critical, Paula, perhaps slightly indiscreet

tweets! "completely ridiculous", the selection? A little bit

ridiculous! I just felt this was the perfect opportunity to give

young guys like Chris Robertson, the chance to come here and see

what they could do but you talk about during people at the deep end.

Hands and -- and sometimes you have to take that chance. In the

distance events, David Sharpe winning, look at that. He may have

not been on that team today but he was able to capitalise on things

like that. Especially events like the women's 800, you have got the

top 10 in the world and only one is here. I am hoping that Steve Cram

and Colin Jackson in the commentary box, we have got the camera

pointing at them. A bit of context for this championship. Straight

after the Olympic Games, what should we be expecting? We were

discussing earlier on today, a bit of a mixed bag today. Post Olympics,

lots of big names. A fair share of our big names who are not here,

they are taking time to recover and they want to ease himself back in.

It is not only the Brit doing that a. -- not only the Brits doing that.

You get some new faces and some stars and the youngsters as Paula

was talking about, top level of competition experience. It is a

good competition where, if you think back to Paris, Helen

Clitheroe winning and Jodie Williams winning. I agree, but also

you need to come to the championships with that the real

reasons to come. If you want to perform well, you have to do so.

When the athletes set themselves a target to perform, they still have

to deliver. He has gone by, they did not have world juniors, under

23 championships, lot of athletes would come to these events -- in in

years gone by. It is not needed as much now. I think expectations

should be quite strong on them. Steve and Colin, your thoughts of

Peter Eriksson as the new head coach. Probably quite a different

approach to what Charles created. Yes, while you were talking about

it, Colin and I were chatting. I am not sure, but I think we overplay

this. Peter is the head coach because his job is to ensure -

particularly the coaches below him and working in a world-class

programme and working with the coaches - that everybody is doing

their job well when they come here. If they are doing their job well,

that creates a great environment for the athlete. Peter Cook will

only meet the athletes every now and then. He does not night --

Peter will only meet. Charles had his way of doing things and Peter

will have his own worth. He can't always affect how an athlete will

perform, that is how well they have trained, they must work with their

coaches and hopefully they arrive in good shape and ready to do well

and Peter's job is to create the right environment. His language is

a bit different, talking about them doing their best and Charles might

have said that he would not accept second best, a different tone

almost. I do not think any athlete comes to a championship to please a

head coach. I don't think any athlete to be coming to an event to

please Peter Eriksson or Charles van Commenee, they should becoming

here to do the best they can. They will have their own expectations.

We must recognise that. A collective environment, it is

important to set the framework to allow athletes to compete at their

best. Of course there will have targets, no sport comes to this and

does not think it will matter to win medals, that would be nonsense

but he is correct to say that he wants people to come to perform to

the best of their ability. You do not what people going home thinking

they could not perform well because of something the team had done, he

must make sure that is the case. You are spot on there, Steve. I

think he wants to create a warm atmosphere where athletes may be

struggling and they would like to talk to him about something.

Sometimes you can feel that. Sometimes people could feel they

would not be able to dare to talk to Charles. Yes, a different

environment but his job is to look after the coaching side and the

medical side and everything else. Let me bring you in, Denise. You

reacted to what Steve Cram said, people reacting to what Charles

wanted. I think it is taking responsibility and ownership of how

you go about your business so I think from what I can gather from

what I have seen and heard about Charles, it was about what you did

in the everyday and preparation to the championships. Not necessarily

about what you did here, although that was important, but the

decisions you make a bad way you train, the you train with and your

training programme. -- the decisions about the way you train.

Some people needed more guidance in that than others. The bits Charles

perhaps become too big a personality -- did Charles?

they are very different people but like Denise says, athletes are

different people. Some athletes do not need any pushing in training

and build up and preparation and certainly in racing, there are

always trying to get the best out of themselves. Others may be less

professional in that built up and need the guidance. Sometimes it is

not always the younger athletes, sometimes it is the athletes who do

not have that innate perspective and focus and a thick Charles did

something to put people into that a bit more than somebody who needs

that guidance may struggle a bit more under Peter but somebody who

is well able to push themselves and focus themselves will flourish and

perform well. No medal predictions from year but our pundits, Where

Angels fear to tread! This is what they think will happen. A divide

studio and it, too, Steve Cram and Colin Jackson are going

conservatively but four at the front from Denise and Paula with 12

and nine medals. Five gold medals, for Denise. Name them. I am a

feeling optimistic. Looking at the men's and the women's 4x400. If we

do not get golds. Then you add Robbie Grabarz and the high jump, I

am hoping that Holly Bleasdale can do the business in the pole vault

and then we have got Helen Clitheroe moment where an

unexpected person who goes beyond what we think is possible. The is

that five? That is five! And what is your prediction for gold

Plummer? We hope that Holly Bleasdale is OK, she sprayed hair

spray on her I it and she was using hair straighteners, I do not know

why she needed then. You have gone for 12. Let's go to the commentary

box and the wise heads not going for too many medals. I have got no

hair spray on, unlike Holly! But I did injure my finger.

I feel like I am tight compared to everybody, I am right at the bottom

of the list but I am playing it safe but I think there's a lot of

athletes who can raise their Games. From all parts of the world. We

must be realistic. I still give us three gold medals which is not bad.

Only fools make predictions about something they cannot influence. We

have been asked to do that! Like everybody else, we do not know, and

we are hoping that we do very well. I think we will, I have gone for

night like Colin, I think the 400 individual metres and the 4x400 are

our best chances but the French came here with high hopes and they

have had two people go out with false starts and all sorts of

things can happen. I think 8, 9, 10 would be a good return. We will

keep track of those predictions with great interest and told the

guys to them. The men's 60m heat coming up. We have not failed to

brilliant run. Linford Christie is storming through. He takes the gold.

He takes it from a standing start. It was an appalling start and he

still won. It is Livingston. It is very, very close. He is the

European a number one. Jackson Quinonez got away very well indeed.

A brilliant run. Stumbled a bit at the moment. He is going well.

Through the middle. Jason Gardener is the European champion. Jason

Gardener got away well. He is the champion again. Absolutely superb.

6.56. That was a terrific run. Chambers gets his very good start

as usual. He will win. He has got Dwain Chambers was very quick in

2009. Let us hear from him. I know you have had so many successes

indoors before. When it comes to the Championship like this, how

much do you tap into those memories to inspire you? I have noticed it

is getting harder and harder. Young men are getting faster and faster.

I have started to realise I have got to rely on my experience. I

still have the ability but experience pays a lot. I have to

use it in the Championships. You are the man. Everybody is trying to

beat you. You have the record that is answer past. It is a question of

how long you can keep it going. Physically, I still have the

ability to go out and perform. I try and remember -- I try and stay

one step ahead of everybody. I still love what I do. That is the

main thing. Whatever you do in life, do it with love and care. You can

go as long as you want. If you look at Hollywood, Bruce Willis and so

on, they are still making movies in their 60s. It shows, age is nothing

but a number. If you still enjoy what you do, anything is possible.

After Birmingham, a bit surprised when he did not make the final. I

am surprised to see him here. are talking about European indoors,

if anyone can mix it up it is Dwane. He has a great track record. It is

about how fit he is. If he is putting himself on the line, I

expected to do well. He seems a more relaxed athlete after 2012. He

has some sense of personal redemption. He has. He has got

perspective as well. At the end of the day, he is doing something he

enjoys. He thinks he can still perform at it. He would not be here

if he did not think he could go out to perform. Dwain Chambers goes in

heat two. It is the two wise men in Harry Aikines-Aryeetey first. Only

three heats in this round. The first format will go through. --

format. Although it for a map fastest losers will join them.

There will be 16 in the final. -- the four fastest losers will join

them. This young man has been in great form. European junior

champion. Harry Aikines-Aryeetey has been through the World Junior

Championships. Not quite able to convert all of that talent as a

senior. He is the same age as Julian Reus. Harry needs to be

careful. He is capable of finishing in the top four. Anything slightly

off, as happens in the 60m, you can be disappointed. To put it mildly.

This young man has been making all kinds of headlines at home. They

are getting excited about his prospects. He twitched a bit in the

blocks before he went away. Harry was not so quick. He ran a good

second half. The surprise, was the Romanian. It was quite an even race.

You would expect that. No-one is outstanding this season. The German

is very smooth and fluid. This is something we have to look out for,

the surprises. There is the German. He has done well. 6.56. As a

sprinter, he has everything you want. He is not under stress,

working his way to the line. He knows everyone is around him. He

looks calm and comfortable. A good performance. Let us have a look at

Harry out of the Brooks. -- the blocks. He can be aggressive. He

suffers from injuries a lot. He cannot fulfil the potential he

could expose him to. He has qualified here. Qualified nicely.

There is a bit of a surprise. Catalin Cimpeanu. We have not

really seen him race. A good win really seen him race. A good win

for him. Paris safely through. -- Harry. How are you looking at the

event? It is an opportunity for us to work on a few new things and try

to implement them. I had a bit of a stumble. Lots of things to work on.

It was a better run than I have been doing the majority of the

season. I am lucky to be here. I will make the most of it. What

other trickiest things and the best things of changing coach? Hope and

confidence. I beat Yohan Blake and look at where he is now. So a new

coach is a new start. I want to go out there and say -- and do what I

can do. Can I say hello to Dave Royal? Good to see you back. All

the best. Dwain Chambers is ready for the second heat. We have heard

from him, we have seen him, we wonder how his back is. That did

seem to be troubling him in Glasgow. He did not get through the heats.

He is 34 years old. Still with a passion for it. He has got one or

two new names. He needs to look out two new names. He needs to look out

for Jimmy Vicaut. The Romanian threw his hat into this -- into the

ring. He thought that was his best of the year. Emmanuel Biron got

fourth place. That was the automatic qualification spot. This

is how they line up for the second. Jimmy Vicaut is a very promising

French man. He has just turned 21. European junior champion a couple

trying to run through his injury but you saw in Glasgow, there was

not the same spring in his step. was not the strong at Dwain

Chambers we expect to see. He did attempt to raise but it was

gingerly. He is here. -- to race. When he is on the track had a major

Championship, he gives it his heart and soul. 6.58 this season. He did

not get close to that in Birmingham. There is Jimmy Vicaut. He has been

working with a dance teacher to working with a dance teacher to

help him run with more relaxation. Any thoughts? Won the French indoor

title recently. Very, very good French sprinters coming through.

Italy a strong as well. There is Jaysuma Saidy Ndure of Gambia. If

Dwain Chambers is near his best, he is not at his best, but if he is at

10% of it, he should have a chance here. He should go through all

things being equal. It is a small field for this race. Four go

through from each heat plus the false start of. There is a done

rose. -- Odain Rose. He is the Swedish champion. Jimmy Vicaut is

the man who comes in on the hottest form. He does like to look at his

watch before he sets into the blocks, Dwain Chambers. He is not

doing that today unless he has his best form. This is not going to

be his Championship unless something dramatic happens. It is

all laid out beside Jimmy Vicaut. He was very impressive. The-4 run

by him. Absolutely wonderful. Flawless. -- a beautiful run. So

relaxed at the end. The final time was 655. A lot more to come from

that young man. -- 6.55. A bit of a gap there. A tenth of a second. He

is saying, this is what I have got. Here is Dwain Chambers. A less he

explodes out of the blocks, you can know he is struggling. He has no

good contact on the floor, there is no drive, he does not get into is a

bright spring tide running. You can see by his head he is thinking,

just pain. He is really suffering. He is an athlete who has not had

many injuries. He is finding out how damaging it can be. A very,

very frustrated figure, Dwain Chambers. He may well go through to

the semi-finals which take place tomorrow. His time is 6.78. It is

tomorrow. His time is 6.78. It is some way off his best. Dwain

Chambers, we will see if he gets he is frustrated. I sent a bit of

anger. Phil Jones tried to get hold of him that he decided that it was

not the time, throws his top down with real disgust. You can see the

anger of Dwain Chambers there because we wondered what form he

would be in in terms of his injury and he wandered as well and there's

the answer. A very annoyed Dwain Chambers, he may be back as one of

JONATHAN EDWARDS: Quite a strong reaction from Dwain Chambers. I am

surprised to see that. Are you? Dwain Chambers does not like to

perform like that, especially on the European stage but clearly he

is not in shape. He looked very laboured out of the blocks. His

contacts seem to be so long on the floor and that is not the person we

know. He has had a back injury and sometimes that means the signals

are not getting from your brain down to your muscles and it looked

like he was struggling to get the turnover and cadence and an

unbalanced way of running. Let's see if we can pick up anything from

No better here. You would expect him to be high in his feet but he

was fighting every step of the way. Nothing majestic about that.

Nothing that looked like this printing we have come to expect

from him. It was hard work. -- from the sprinting. We also must

remember that if you go back to Glasgow at the end of January, up

in the Commonwealth Games arena, he was 6.58 out of the blocks first

and looks great so something has happened and that is what I am

surprised four, he has not a valid reason for not running well. He has,

but if it is something like trapping in his back, that can come

and go. As easily as the bed not being comfortable here. If it is

just not firing as well as yesterday. It looks like he was

hoping and knew the shape was there, but it looked like he was sinking

on his left side. He has usually been very willing to give answers

to why things have gone wrong and I am sure he will come back and speak

to Phil Jones later but we will get a reaction from Dwain Chambers but

we saw those pictures of him winning in 2009, running six but 42,

the second-fastest time of all time. -- running 6.42. He usually does

communicate what is going on so clearly he is disappointed more

than anything else. A quick word on the French athlete. He looked

amazing. I think there's more to come but he is definitely favourite

moving forward. Let's get back to the track and James Dasaolu goes

first in this, equal top ranked Brit so far and back to the

earlier in the season and we have not seen him race since the UK

trials and they argue whether or not he has been 100%, but he is

certainly capable of doing well here. A decent season outdoors last

year and somebody who has already shown that once you are running

under 6.6 indoors, certainly at the moment, you will be in with a good

shout. It will be close, we will say Michael Tumi alongside him, a

bit of a revelation, breaking the Italian record on a couple of

the French athlete, was. James Dasaolu, has surely got a better

Michael Tumi. A very good Russian is currently in the fastest loser

spot so if he does go through, he will have to find his number, and

he shared, both of which he threw off and then be back for the semi-

finals tomorrow hopefully. I am not sure that lots of people will run

quicker than that here but we will see. Two people outside the top

Arena tonight. A better crowd than this morning although we expected

bigger crowds of the weekend as you would expect. Field event

the pole vault. James hopefully waiting for his chance to go

year, Michael Tierney, everybody thought he is in goods shape, and

this plan has run a personal best down to 6.51 on three occasions.

For now, this is where the focus is. Michael Tierney, I was watching a

video of him winning in the Italian championships when he ran that 6.51,

he has only run on two occasions this year but, but he really did

explode out of the blocks and the middle part of the race really

impressive. Let's see what he does. The Frenchman James is different,

he has improved his start, but he is best at the end. He knows to get

to the final and you will get your first view of Michael Tierney here.

He is in the blue of Italy. James pleased to see that when you have

not raced for a while, you come into your heat and comment, you may

pick up on the start. And how James Dasaolu, how he got out. A bit of a

weird right arm from Michael Tumi, but James Dasaolu and looked very

relaxed in the last 20 minutes. no stress at all from James. He

drove through the first 20 metres and was looking at Michael Tierney

from about 40 metres so that tells me that he feels good, he is in

great shape and he is looking at his opponents and saying he is

there with him. An excellent performance from James. Let's see

exactly what happened. You have to drive this bit, react well and

drive but he slyly stumbled a bit. Lost a bit of balance but he got

back into his running -- slightly stumbled. I wish he would start

doing that nice bounce down the track, it makes a huge difference

to your sprinting. And what a great way of demonstrating that

relaxation. Well done, James. news for him but not for Dwain

Chambers because behind him, quite a few people went well. An

impressive performers but at the bottom, but 6.74 and 6.76

qualification means they go through as the fastest and Dwain Chambers

does not go through. Two men through, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and

James Dasaolu, there's qualification. Very impressive from

James Dasaolu and Harry safely through as well. A real opportunity

for James Dasaolu but he will have to be going... As quick as he has

ever been. No Dwain Chambers in the looked relaxed out there. I had a

plan to make it to the qualifiers as easily as possible. I thought I

would drive out and qualify so I was in a good position. I knew I

did not have to push or try, just to try to conserve energy. You have

not run that money raised is indoors but you have been putting

the work in. My coach has belief in me, he knows I do not need to

compete, compete, compete. He can even afford a look sideways, that

is how comfortable new look. Yeah, when I looked round I was just

checking my position. More to come? Or of course. I would like to think

so. Good luck. Cut to do double. -- the chairman of UK Athletics a

moment ago. You can see Sebastian Coe there and his wife. Middle-

distance runners, Sebastian Coe used to love running indoors with

when he won the European indoor title. He has got that many titles

these days. Confirmation that Dwain Chambers did not make the semi-

finals. The petulant reaction that we saw and I think what surprised

us both about that was that he was always the figure that people love

After his suspension and coming back, he was looking like he wanted

to please. I think it was important for him to feel that he was

accepted by the public and his peers. And for him to be annoyed,

you can understand that. Not speaking to Phil Jones and that is

unusual because like I said before, he normally speaks when running has

gone well. Even if it has not gone well, he has usually got a smile on

his face. But there was frustration on his face which is unlike him.

were taught about this sense of redemption that he got through 2012,

he stood in the Olympic Stadium, he was allowed to compete first of all

four Team GB and got a great cheer and performed relatively well. But

it was almost like that he has got the freedom to be angry and he can

be annoyed if it doesn't go well. He is an athlete and at the end of

the day, these things hurt. These things kick in. He is free to be

himself and he is expressing what any athlete would do if they are

coming to the championships and not performing well. He knew he did not

do enough and it would be wrong to be smiling, that is not be Dwain I

know anyway. By a very bright future at the end of the career of

the next person though, Holly Bleasdale is getting ready pull the

women's pole vault as the qualification, she should do this

comfortably. But hear her thought. -- let hear. I have had a great

indoor season and I am feeling confident, training has been going

so well and I think I am in the best place I could be with

confidence. I am hopefully able to add to what I have achieved on

nastier and happily get a medal. Was it the indoor season last year

and the height of things you were able to achieve that catapulted you

to greater things at doors and also sent your confidence soaring.

that was a great big break through and struggling a bit outdoors, I

hit some competition with bad weather conditions but this year I

have come back out and buy have jumped more consistency than ever

and I feel so much more confident than I ever have done in a season.

I feel like I him in the best place I can be. With the change of

coaching strategies, that has helped me mentally and more

confidence. Dan said he could name 14 things I could change right now

and it was really daunting having all those things to changed and I

have changed some of those. I have made my run-up so it is more

controlled. If I would have carried a pole, and like in the Olympics, I

can do so much better, I can cope with different conditions. There

are not many times when you get good conditions. Aside from all the

pressures of the sport, you have got things to look forward to.

would with some friends in Cardiff and I have been so nervous for

these competitions because lot of pressure to come and win a medal,

particularly being the favourite and there is lots of pressure but

going in and trying wedding dresses, it has really chilled me out and I

I guess she wants to enjoy herself and she wants to win. I would say

so! She has learned a lot from last year. The height of expectation

going into London and then not quite hitting what I am sure she

would have hoped for herself, no medal and she must now realise that

big hides are not just the game, it is about converting those into

medals. She has a great opportunity to do that. The coverage we saw of

her when she jumped her four metres and 87 centimetres, it was a

It is about finding consistency. She talked about her run-up. A

larger pole. She feels more comfortable. When she improves the

run up, she can hit the heights. She is capable of hitting the 4.80

mark again. Column, she will be one of your predictions for a gold.

People will be waiting for her to deliver. What Holly Bleasdale is

happy about doing is doing what she has to do to get consistent. She

has not been involved in the excitement about herself. In

interviews, she is quite straight. She says, this is what I am doing,

give me time and I will deliver big performances. I have no doubt.

There will be a time when she will be hitting marks consistently. When

you do that, that is when we will start seeing her get big medals.

her last competition, it was in Stockholm, she jumped, 4.45. She

was disappointed and a confidence took a knock. This is section two.

Lots of good action, not least in the women's 400m. Perri Shakes-

Drayton is in great form. She Drayton is in great form. She

looked superb. She really did. She has all this indoor season. Every

time we see her, she has been demanding, executed her race really

well. We know how important it is to get to that 200m mark first. She

is in the outside lane, she went off like a train. She was

commanding. She did a great job. The most important thing is, when

you are in that type of form, it is to not make any trivial mistakes.

You have to keep yourself focused. We know she can go in at 52 seconds.

So Mike -- so why not run it like that? You have got to do it.

was comfortably the fastest qualifier. In the interview with

Phil, she said she did not expect Phil, she said she did not expect

to run that fast. That bodes well. Again, she looks good. When it

Eilidh Child was under pressure, she had this beautiful way of

exhilarating, just to take herself clear. They showed someone who was

full of confidence who knows what they can achieve. Her time was 5205.

-- 52.05. It was a great performance. She was the one who

did not win, unfortunately. She had a pretty solid race. She has not

got the same speed in her legs. She has raced but not too much. She

needs this confidence, she needs a run. She was comfortably through.

It doesn't bode well, especially when we look ahead. There really is

a gold medal banker. The men's 400m happened this morning. There is

works on the back straight to make sure he goes into the second corner.

You can see what is happening, he knows he is going on the outside.

There is some acceleration to take him to the head of the pact and

then he can just relax and control the race. All the British runners

have a clear plan, go out fast. it worked. It was a great tactic.

It is a tactic they will have to adopt when we move into the semi-

finals. It was great to see Richard running well. He has been at this a

long time. They would be nice to see him progress through to the

final. A great run from him. Richard Strachan made it through.

From a British point of view, our best chance is Nigel Levine. He

beat Richard Strachan. We can see the closing stages of his race.

competent performer. We expect the man in front of him to be the

leader. He has had a great rise in this indoor season. He has run 45

seconds outdoors. Nigel Levine would know what was going on. What

I loved was he tested his opponent. Coming off the final bend, he put

his foot down to see if he would respond. He did respond. He was

like, OK, I know what you have left in a tank. He could sense Nigel

Levine and the kept him back. would not let him past. Today, not

tomorrow -- not so they, not tomorrow. It will be an exciting

race. There are three athletes in this. All three got through.

Michael Bingham. He took it out strong. One of the contenders, the

Russian looked good. The Russian is strong. Indoors, we are not so sure

of him. People bought -- performed really well. He went comfortably

under 47 seconds. He has got a bit left in the tank. All six of our

men and women through to the semi- finals tomorrow. Good news for the

woman was a long jump. High hopes with Shara Proctor. She got bronze

last year. Disappointed in London. She did not make automatic

qualification. She did not. She qualified well enough. It is tough

for the girls to come out and made sure their accuracy on the wrong

way is there. She was beautiful on the board, running well. Qualified

with 6.61. Safely through. It only to cut one jump. She was assessed

in the competition, making it sure she could respond. -- it only took

one a jumper. Post London, she have the point to prove. That is why she

is here. She has made that clear. She was disappointed in the

Olympics. She will be competitive. It will be one of the athletes I

expect to find in the line-up. Jenny Meadows is in the 800m. She

is the champion. She finished in is the champion. She finished in

silver-medal position at three years ago. She was upgraded after

the doping violation. She is team captain. It is great to see you

because when we spoke in Birmingham you ran well. What was the

discussion? When I crossed the line, I felt really tired and I thought,

I do not want to do that again soon. I thought, it is probably what they

need to do. It is a different training. You have to be quite

race-fit. We decided we did not want to leave it three months until

the start of the outdoor season. It would only be a couple of weeks

into the Championship. Thrown in the deep end. It shows the kind of

esteem you are held in, you have been made the captain as well. It

is a fantastic honour. When Peter asked me, I accepted straight away.

To a weeks ago, I would not have thought I would be in the

Championship and a captain. -- two weeks. What about champion? I have

never gone in as defending champion before. I am not sure realistically

what my chances are. Certainly, I take it very seriously. I will not

let the title slip easily. For you, this Championship, hive would you

put it into perspective? What success -- what would success

before you? The coach would say it is to practise your mental skills.

It is all the build up, you get a lot of nerves, the warm-up area can

be daunting. To go through the whole routine is really important

for me. That is ticking a box of the summer. I am a competitor. It

will be trying my best, trying to defend my title. A lot of people

would not expected. By Emily ranked 7th or 8th going into the race. But

I would be disappointed if I am not I would be disappointed if I am not

on the podium. -- I am only ranked. Her coach will be watching with

eagle eyes. We can see Jenny getting ready.

What we your final words? Just to enjoy herself. We struggled in

Birmingham. She was a bit race rusty. She asked a practice that so

when she is 100% fit and summer, she is ready to go. Was this some

debate in Birmingham as to whether she would come here? Not really. We

thought about it and analyse the race and thought the weakest part

of the day was what was going on in her head. So we thought we would

put that right. She got a gold medal in Paris after the Russian

was disqualified a couple of years ago. She got there was -- she was

devastated she came second that day, though. What did you think? It is

difficult. If you dwell on it too much, you get frustrated. You have

got to go in with the mine said, if I am doing the best they can do,

you cannot complain about what other people do on the day. -- mind

set. You hope people doing their job behind the scenes are doing

their job. Was there anything that made you change the way you

approach things in light of that result? We looked at a few things

and tweaked a few things and she missed the final later that summer

in day do up by a fraction. We went back to the drawing board. You

could argue that was the reason for the injury but we will never know.

It is one of those things. We may be did not need to change things.

The Russians were doping. What are you hoping for this week? She had

had a long road back after last year. Just that she is enjoying the

races and getting used to the whole build-up of the day and the media

attention and things like that. Knowing her, she will be eyeing a

medal. She definitely had a twinkle in her eye when she was talking

about, it is great to be here, but the Bodiam -- the podium is what

she wants. Three years ago, we would be looking at the field and

saying, let us take it on and dominated. But she is a bit race

rusty and she has not done all the training we would have liked to

have done. Whatever happens is a where the hard work is done. It has

been a hard slog for Jenny to get back. We are delighted to see her

back. She is one of the most popular athlete the team. It is

great she is the team captain. As the code was saying, if she had

looked at the field two years ago, only 16 athletes in it, only thing

that will be eliminated in this round, the three fastest from the

She knows how to bring -- to win big races. Jenny is happy she has

got three races. She can be steady across three. Do not be surprised

as we see her making sure the pace does not slip. Great to see her

back. I have expectations and hopes. I hope she can come back and take

the middle. I think she is capable but they are not 100% prepared. One

thing that is not lacking is a fight. She will go out and attack

like she is doing now. It is hard being in the first heat because you

do not know the time to shoot for. She is controlling everything.

Elena Kotulskaia goes into the lead. Bit of a stumble there. She is in

control. She is happy. Happy to be racing. When you have time out from

injury, that can give you an extra boost to full stop she is doing

everything right. Now she is wanted to move wide. She is using her

experience. Wide down the back straight. Top three to go through.

Nataliya Lupu own is there. Jenny has just got to keep working. The

lack of training by come into play here. You cannot switch through the

gears in the same way. That determination that she has always

had is still there. Elena Kotulskaia is first, Jenny is

safely through in third. A few more are training, a long time out with

injury and the fitness coming back but it is the race fitness which

takes a little longer to arrive. absolutely, blowing the cobwebs

away and you see and she is coming down the home straight, she has not

got the change of pace that she normally has when she is 100% ready.

But she made it and fought hard and I think she will come back stronger

with other athletes becoming married and now called Elena

Kotulskaia. Jenny held the position behind the Russian. She would have

been able to raise the pace there and go through as Nataliia Lupu

went by her. She is reaching for it to her but she is not liking as

much so it she is coming away and claims that third spot. I can say

that journey is just about approaching Phil Jones so she will

be able to speak to him about how How did that go from your

perspective? Pretty good, 16 goals in the championship and three of

them have run under the certain target. I always feel quite strange

in the heats when you are not quite running at your fastest pace so I

tried to make sure I was in the top three the whole time and I think I

am better with a faster pace so I really look forward to the

increased pace. It is about getting back in the ring and getting rid of

the rustiness. Exactly, I have been training on my own and you have no

one ever on the track coming to barge you. You have to learn how to

respond and people to bump and barge, that is the 800m,

particularly indoors so I learnt a few things there, trying this time

in the next round, hopefully that will wake me up ready for the next

round. Do you feel there is anything missing that you will not

be able to work on in such a short space of time? Yeah, hoping none of

the opponents are listening to this! Better if there is a fast

pace so if I do not go off in the first 200m with the fast pace, I

lose the best bit of May. So that his discussions about how the next

race goes, who I draw, had to play it. It might have been better to

make sure it was a fast race, it may play into my hands better. I

need to work out who I will get in the next round. Thanks for talking

to us. It is a pleasure, fell. -- pleasure, Phil. No places to hide

in the championships. Not at all, not at this level and when you have

been so far away from competing and as Jenny always gives an honest

account. It is knowing when to kick, do you trust you can maintain that

form when the other girls are still accelerating? She will have learnt

a lot from that race and she will go and analyse, like she said, what

to do next and that is important to get back into the flow and it was

good to see her out there. A good start for Jenny so we will see her

tomorrow. And a few legs cobwebs but let's get back out now to the

second heat with Andrew Cotter. Second of three heats, a reminder

it is three automatically in and any three fastest losers through to

like there was with Elena Kotulskaia. Marta Milani comes

through from Italy. Ciara Everard settling in nicely. It is a limited

field and the three fastest losers going through but they know the

time they have to target. And the pace they have to set. And the

Belorussian athlete is setting the pace, this place is a bit weaker

than the last heat. You want to ensure that they have a chance of

going through as the fastest loser. 2.03 was the fastest in the first

hit and that is what they are aiming to do, aiming to go through

in a bit quicker than that but they went through that in 63. There's

the Irish champion, Kieran Everard -- Ciara Everard. The Czech for the

bit in the Champion there as well and Ciara Everard deciding to ease

her way around her opponent. She is the Irish Universities indoor

champion and that has improved her personal best to under 2.02. And

stretching away and opening a gap. Yes, and opening the gap between

her and Lenka Masna. She is showing some real form and class here, Kira

Everard and she will win this one comfortably, a battle behind her

for the automatic qualification between Lenka Masna and Marta

Milani. A great race from Ciara Everard. This is well within her

capabilities. She had plenty here. Looking very, very impressive, she

is still coming away down the home straight. Marina Arzamasova

fighting back but we were talking before about giving youngsters the

chance to build and gain experiences and it to gain the

conference. Ciara Everard looking impressive there, timing it well

and she knew she was probably the class athlete and she made it tell.

She was sensing that as Marina Arzamasova was putting the pace

slowed a bit, she moved smoothly past and continued to go away. She

is in control and winding up the pace, Lenka Masna tried to get back.

A bit more to come in the next round by the looks of it. She was

looking strong here. Perhaps testing herself a bit, 29.5 in the

last lap which was very impressive and just see what she had in the

tank. Not a very quick time overall but it was a quick last lap so she

has made their way none too wearily A big smile on her face and

deservedly so. It was good. I kicked out at 200m and I felt

pretty strong. I had it all the way to the finish line, so it is about

focusing on the semi-final. It has been a great day for Ireland, we

were talking to your colleagues, a small tin that a great deal of

camaraderie and real potential for success. Definitely. One of the

strongest teams we have ever had coming to these championships. It

raises the atmosphere among the camp. It is great to have the

senior people and the juniors as well. It is really good. What are

your own expectations as you move forward? My plan is to take it

round by round, this is my first major championships. I want to get

back and recover and see how the semi-finals go back. An impressive

Earlier on during the lunchtime Earlier on during the lunchtime

break we had the pentathlon it shot put taken place. This was the first

of five disciplines today the young it 18-year-old Belgian who already

holds the world junior indoor record. She threw 13.88 but the

longest one of the day comb from the defending pentathlon champion.

Well over 50m, the longest shot put we had seen and put her up from

sixth into second place. But the lead still being held by Yana

Maksimava. She threw 14.65 to keep the women's 800m. This could be a

young star of the picture, this is Anta Hinriksdottir, she only turned

19 last month, 4th in the world juniors, the silver medal race

leader in that but she really did attack that race. And I think she

will be a star of the future. She has just run just as quick as she

did last year, and just 17 years of first heat, Elena Kotulskaia coming

through there and looking pretty impressive. Kira Everard winning

the second heat. And Marta Milani disqualified for Italy, we do not

know why she was disqualified. means that all six women could go

times areas champion. A great new indoor facility in Ireland. Many of

the athletes have run close to Albanian athlete, she is having a

cracking season as well. She is reasonably experienced, whether she

had begun, luckily or not the starter has brought them back. --

whether she heard the gun. I am not sure it was the starter's fall,

everybody else started fine. You do not often see a false start in the

800m. Not very often at all! I am not sure any of them know what

happened. Some of them found their way round the first bend before the

recall. The starter has got his arm up to say everything was clear, she

just did not hear them and for whatever reason, they have been

recalled, luckily for her. She will receive... She will not be

disqualified, I will be amazed if she is. What is the problem now?

They are worried about her number for some reason. Oh, she folded it

over with the sponsor. It's as Gothenburg and that, it is just so

everybody knows where we are. She either did not here or did not know

whether there with the starter's gun. Paula Habovstiakova then

paused and then meet marksmen decided they would bring them back.

Shall we have a crop top conversation?! If they would like

to make the babes at have something softer that does not rub the things

out of your abdomen, I am not sure it is so important out of the plot,

but she did does seem to have it folded under her she did it as she

was walking back for the restart. Indignation in the cross-country

world in the Sunderland International's, some women wearing

crop tops. It was in Newcastle, what can you expect? To has done it

again! I cannot believe that. The reason, you do not see too many

Albanian athletes, she runs on the circuit, running well this year,

she has then to us -- then had to storm through and she is lucky to

get through. We see a youngster at the front who loves to get out

there with a slightly odd action. But she has stormed through the

first 200m, 28.79. A fast start and Luiza Gega getting herself into the

race. Yes, but impressive that Anta Hinriksdottir is just going for it.

She has got a slightly lower lean and an effective stance in moving

away. She is relishing being on the stage and having this opportunity

and she is turning this into two races. A bit of inexperience on the

17-year-old, she does not need to go this fast. She likes to front

run, she did it in the world junior championships and as Paula was

saying, she has got that action and I am sure she will get more upright

and stronger, a great, long, languid stride on her. And now

Luiza Gega is struggling to get involved now. They are taking much

going past. Then followed by the Ukrainian, who is the second round.

She is taking -- trying to take control of the race. Rose-Anne

Galligan wins. The refrain in second place. A very tired

youngster in third place. It is inexperience. She has loads of

ability and talent. Galligan has the experience. There is the start.

If you have done it once, you should be forewarned. She had to

work so hard to get back involved. By the final stage, she is really

tired. The more tired, the more the forward lean comes into play. She

has done enough. She cannot run like that against the senior

athletes when she gets into the semi-finals. She will have to hope

she gets pulled round and runs with a bit more common sense. She went

very fast through the first 200 metres. Gallacher looked good. --

Have you ever seen that? The first time that you could maybe excuse

someone from a -- or not hearing it. But not twice. The second time,

they cannot start the race again. She is looking at them have run

away from her and then she is on the back foot. She is working

really hard. She has the stress of knowing it is her error that has

put her in a position. No problems for Rose-Anne Galligan. Ireland are

having a good day. She is full of smiles.

smiles. Another excellent performance. It

must be catching. Seeing my team- mates compete well, I wanted to as

well. A rather bizarre start with the Albanian athlete not hearing

begun? What did you see? I got a fright. I thought I had done

something. I think it was her numb but that she was not showing. I do

not know what was going on. -- her number. You took care of business.

What are you hoping to do from here on in? The first thing is to make

the semi-finals. It is my first time. I will speak to my coach and

see what the plan is for tomorrow. see what the plan is for tomorrow.

fastest qualifiers, it did not take much to get through. Luiza Gega has

been disqualified. We hope Jenny Meadows will go well. That is a

wide-open race. Gear Everard was very impressive. Two Irish women

are through. -- a Ciara Everard. Jenny Meadows will not be too far

away if she can find her old form. Still to come: We have got the

heats of the men's 800m. Michael Rimmer is going well this season.

He will be in with a church -- with a chance. Mukhtar Mohammed is

ranked number two. They ran well in Birmingham. Do not forget Joe

Thomas. He makes up our trio in the men's 800m. Then the triple jump

champion, Emile Aldama will be looking to qualify. We also have

Robbie Grabarz as well. Robbie Grabarz finishes the first attempt.

Very, very good indeed. It is a bronze for Britain and bronze for

How much has the success kept you inspired? The success breeds

success? A looking at last season, it would be easy to drop my

personal best and say I was happy. But it is enjoyable. When it is

going right, it is even more fun. You want more and more of that. It

is what you do it for. That keeps you motivated. How would you assess

how the indoor season is going for you? Quite well. I missed a bar but

I wanted. But I have trained really hard and the things I have done

have created positive problems. A bit faster, but more powerful and

they are hard things to deal with we were used to jumping a certain

way. It is putting a lid on it and controlling it. I have prepared

well for this. That is interesting. You are fired up for the winter

season, it is hard to incorporate into technique. Be it is. He will

have to make adjustments with his run-up. His take-off position as

well. They are positive problems because he is looking at jumping

2.40. That is where he is heading. He is a fantastic athlete. He is

rising through the ranks and featuring at European Championships.

I cannot wait to see him jump. He will probably... There has not been

a victory for Britain since 1984. - - 1994. How high did he jump? It

was 2.37. That is five. -- high. We will see Robbie Grabarz later.

Holly Bleasdale is coming in at 4.46. Now we will concentrate on

the hurdles. This is the men's Lagarde Martinot is perhaps the man

final. He just squeeze through. A loud roar from the crowd of Philip

Nossmy. We were talking about him being soft out of the blocks. He

does get going. He has done 7.53 this year. This was a personal best

for Paolo Dal Molin. He is the Portuguese record holder indoors.

He lowered it to 7.68. He is very strong. Perhaps not quite at Sergei

Shubenkov's level. But strong in his heat. A Greek record holder.

Spain came through in 7.75 in the heats. It will be interesting to

see who Pascal Lagarde Martinot the final. It takes place later

him. He is slow out of the blocks, Pascal Lagarde Martinot. You cannot

at any stage be resting in your blocks. You have got to be shot out

of them and put pressure on your opponent and dictate the race.

Paolo Dal Molin from Italy. They are excited about this man. He set

a personal best in the eaves. He has gone a bit quicker here. Good,

strong performance from him. A couple of mistakes earlier on but

he managed to take the victory in 7.58. Konstantin Shabanov got third

place. Greece take fourth place. Paolo Dal Molin was being hunted

down by a Pascal Lagarde Martinot. Look at the start. You have got to

be aggressive. Paolo Dal Molin shows that. But his trail leg is

terrible. He will be a real threat in world hurdling if he can control

that. We will get word to him as soon as we can. Paolo Dal Molin

winning that one. Pascal Lagarde Martinot will want a sharper start

in the final. People believe he can take this one.

Holly Bleasdale getting ready to take her first vault in his

qualifying competition for the final tomorrow. Nobody has cleared

this height of 4.36 so far. 10 athletes have tried. It will give

us a clear indication as to what sort of shape Holly Bleasdale is in.

She is wearing the blue number as the leader in terms of the height

have to go again. We were indicating earlier on her last

appearance in Sweden was just a couple of weeks ago when she

cleared 4.40. She has cleared over 4.70 this year. Two more attempts

to stay in the competition and they will be important for Holly

has had one attempt in the competition at the moment, this is

her first attempt. The last athlete chat with her coach. Not looking

particularly happy. She looked OK in warm-up. Here's the Russian. And

the first athlete to go clear. A would hope that is what Holly

Bleasdale would to achieve that the first attempt. Holly has two more

attempts to get this height and JONATHAN EDWARDS: A slightly nerve-

racking start to her indoor campaign, for Holly. Yes, I have to

say. I have got sweaty palms. The first attempt for an athlete of

Holly's calibre, she can clear that at her first attempt. She seemed to

struggle. Sometimes when you're waiting around, you can get a bit

tired. But she has been in these long, drawn-out competitions before.

She looks like she has not got much turnover at this moment in time and

you look at the contacts on the floor, she does not look sharp. She

was not even tight over the bar. So I am a bit nervous. I am a bit

concerned. But I expect her to do better in the next attempt. One

thing she did say in her interview was quite alarming, when her coach

tells you that there are 13 things that she can work on. There a shot

of adrenalin for her. Let's get back out on the track for the

second final of the men's 60m the final at 6:45pm UK time to. The

favourite from Russia, Sergey the Russian has only been beaten

twice, once in Birmingham, we saw him beaten by his team-mate and

also the American. A bit of a glitch. He looked really good in

qualification. 7.52. And given the fact that seven put 50 is the equal

fastest in the year so far, gives you some indication of the shape he

is in. The person alongside him has been going well as well as the

French athlete. The French athlete was rather fortunate to come

through this morning after having done a false start to all of our

eyes. But he managed to argue his goes into the start into the set

again. Very close for the 4th spot, the Hungarian did well as well. I

cannot see him getting beat. Not quite as good a start as I expected.

Colin, he is so good and technically good as well. He is

good outdoors but assuring out of the blocks, maybe not as good as

some of the others but he finishes his race well. And ultimately, it

is to crosses the line first. It is as simple as that. This man does it

with ease. No stressed or strain, calls himself through the field. He

knows he is the main man and let everybody else wonder what he can

do. If he wants to get down to the fast times and get into the 30s, he

needs to nail the start. He does not work very effectively into the

first hurdle and that costs him. The head goes very low, it looks

like he will overbalance. Sometimes when you start, you start comes

from what you used to do as a kid and it has not been developed so

what he needs to do is to that the videos, look at where he can

improve, feel he is strong and then push his start a bit. Takings of a

bit off the line. Do not crowd himself too much and that will make

him more aggressive in to the first hurdle and he can really compete

against the top of the world. as clean, you saw him smashed

through the third hurdle or 4th hurdle, he was much cleaner this

morning, that was more a strength, but still could nonetheless. Yes, a

but still could nonetheless. Yes, a strong performance by hand. You got

there before I even knew! But Sergey Shubenkov looked very good

there. He is no Colin Jackson, is leading now and Jackson is holding

him. Jackson wins it. Not as fast as his semi-final and he says, my

goodness me, I made hard work of that but he is the new European

indoor champion. Jackson got away very well and it is Jackson under

pressure but he takes it. A brilliant run. Colin got away from

the blocks brilliantly. Jackson is storming down the track. He will

win this, it looked like... 7.422. Not quite as quick as he achieved

in semi-final qualification but Colin Jackson is the European

indoor hurdles champion for the I have to say on that seven -- 7.42

I thought your trail leg looked a little slow! I was exhausted from a

60m. What was the idea behind the 60m? It was obviously your

speciality, annoyed by sprinters for beating them? I am a bit

playful when it comes to the workload and I was training very

well with Linford Christie in Australia and it was he suggesting

I should concentrate on the 60m at the European indoors so I did that

and I ended up winning both titles. So it was a good not from Linford

Christie. You talk about some athletes talking about some indoors

and you always loved it. And yes, it broke up the monotony of the

preparations for the summer and I could still work on being very

competitive and luckily not have to break in too much of my

preparations in the summer. I spent a bit more time in the gym, getting

a bit more physically stronger for the indoor season so only a bit of

a tweet for my training rather than a real hunger focus. A �10 bet on

�60 on the final, who is it on? Sergey Shubenkov, it will take a

lot to beat him. I and the women's hurdles coming up now, the semi-

finals, who should we look out for? Probably the Turkish European

champion. She has an explosive start outdoors. At the first

qualifying round we did not see her exploding out of the box but she

hauled herself through. He has come under eight seconds this year so I

would look to see what she can do. Thank you, Colin, with a head back

times in the heat. This is how they finished in the first semi-final.

Martinot-Lagarde looking very impressive. The result of the

second heat as well, Sergey Shubenkov, with the German,

Hungarian and Max, the Belorussian going through as well. A hard man

to beat, Sergey Shubenkov the fastest there. It is his much to

lose. -- his match. On to the women's 60m hurdles, the first

semi-final. And very close because 11 athletes in the heats separated

only by eight one hundredth of a to the final which takes place just

before 8 o'clock Swedish time, just before 7 o'clock UK time. The

Finnish athlete going in 7th, the record-holder indoors and out. And

looking at the last couple of athletes, the women to beat, 3, 4,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

5, the Russian, you can see her in as well as Alina Talay. Kondokova

get there, she is through in the time of eight seconds flat for

Kondokova. We thought it would be flat, closer than the heats and not

a Hu Jintao between them in the semi-final either. It was very

close, the same two athletes were in the same heat this morning and

the result will be the same, I think. Kondokova just sneak in.

Nothing special happening in the women's hurdling so the performance

of eight seconds is always going to be a feature. It produced a very

even eight seconds. Thrust and counter flights from Kondokova

responding well to the threat of Alina Talay. Taking the gold in the

final later on this evening possibly, she has taken victory in

the first semi-final. Eight seconds dead and confirmation of the other

qualifiers coming through. Alina Talay and it was between these two.

They are used to battling between each other. Running off the

barriers well, it will be another Robbie Grabarz waiting to come in

in the qualifications of the men's high jump, still waiting for the

second attempt for Holly Bleasdale on the pole vault. But women now

catch up with the women's 800m and Yana Maksimava still

hanging on to a medal position at the moment. She is under pressure

in this long jump. She is not a great long jumper. That is around

about the six-metre mark. We would expect the better jumpers to be

class malty event athlete. But Yana Maksimava came through strongly

earlier today. 1.90 in the high jump. Not bad at all. 5.94, 831

points and already down in second place. This lady is in pole

position but needs a lot longer in order to put herself some distance

between herself and the rest when it comes to the 800m and that looks

a little better. She is the defending champion. The French No.

1 so she would love to defend this title successfully. Good judgement

on the take off board. She always gets tremendous hype when she takes

off. -- height. Right through the take-off., although she needs to

tidy it up a bit in terms of the direction on take off but 6.25 is

good, it extend her lead over everybody. This young athlete is a

fantastic talent. She broke the world junior record for pentathlon

recently. Over six feet tall and just 18 years old. Reminiscent of

Great Britain's very own Morgan lake, a precocious 15-year-old

heptathletes. Recently came second in the senior national

championships in high jump. She is that good. She moves up into second

over the rest. That looks a little longer. She gets the white flag. At

the moment, the gap between her and second places around about five

seconds. If she has increased a distance... She could have moved

even further ahead. Looks very strong. It is 6.32. That means the

gap going into the last event is seven seconds. A good achievement

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 40 seconds

athletes lining up. This is a tough Nevin Yanit. She is running at her

best. She has been in as good a shipper she has been for a while.

She double rook is doing very well as well -- double a route Nevin

Yanit has not raced that much. She has looked in good form in

qualification. She is the two-time the quickest we have seen. That is

almost as quick as we have seen in Europe all year. That was close. I

thought this semi-final would have a better quality in it. The Italian

came in late in the end. Nevin Yanit just gets it. Ba will be a

good final. It will be very exciting. The women's final always

tends to be. They are all technically good. If any of them

make a mistake... It will be a really tight final. Nevin Yanit,

she has gone under eight seconds. She did not have the best start. We

have more to come from her, I think. Alleyne Barings and a stronger

start. She is the European outdoor champion, Nevin Yanit. She will

want to add this title to that. Let us look at the box. Ireland have a

personal best of 7.84. She would be clearly leading this field if she

was at her best. She is working her way back from injury. She has heard

her hamstring, back. This will be a tight race. -- hurt her hamstring.

I am looking forward to it. That final is coming up later. The

men's as well. No British interest. holds the record of 1.475. Has he

done it too soon? He came here full of confidence. He is running away

from the field at the moment with one lap to go. Really leaving a

long trail behind him. They cannot close the gap. He is taking it on

and he has done it. Looking full of fight. Britain will have two

remarkable wins. They have a remarkable record. Just outside the

world record indoors for gold. David Sharpe closing down on the

champion. Can he get the attack he needs? David Sharpe running the

race of his life. The European defending champion against the

world junior champion. Can David Sharpe made it? Here he goes. David

Sharpe comes home to take the gold medal. What a run that was by the

youngster. Steve heard in the middle position at the moment. He

is performing magnificently. He is on the shoulder of the West German.

Steve heard is ahead of the West German. He is going for the silver.

He is running the race of his life. The Spaniard has fallen. He is

coming up, what a battle this is. The final track event. It is

Britain's win. The greatest run of his life.

In 1990, it was the term of Scottish run at, Keane. He took the

European indoor title. He had sharp elbows. He did not need them there.

P was away and clear. It was a magical moment. He then won the

world indoors at Toronto. Next it is Mukhtar Mohammed.

A few last moments for him. A real opportunity for him. He ran well in

Birmingham. He was under the weather last week. He went to

Stockholm. He ran up her 1,000m race. It did not go as well as he

hoped. He is feeling better now. He a very good week preparing for this.

Let us hope it goes well for him here. Look at that 60m hurdles.

Nevin Yanit has broken the record for Turkey twice this year.

Veronica Borsi is getting better all the time. Alleyne Barings in

third. -- Alleyne Barings. Let us have a look at that final that will

be later on tonight. I am not sure that was the final. That was the

start list from earlier. They are trying to confuse the! It is easily

done. That is the line-up for the final. That will be a beleaguered

final. -- will be a really good final. Coming back to Mukhtar

outside in lane six. A lot of us have watched this young man over

the last three years. He has great ability. He has shown he is ready

to really makes it up with Michael cagey. He lets the Swede come round.

Mukhtar Mohammed needs to keep out of trouble. Andrea's there Pat's

comes round. Mohammed needs to go out hard. The two fastest go

through to the semi-finals and there are five heeds. It is not

about leaving anything here. It is about going out and doing it. --

keeps. The Swede is controlling the race at the moment. The crowd will

be excited to see him progress. When you run at a pace, it is

giving everyone a chance. Muck up - - Mukhtar Mohammed is doing a good

job. He has not able to pass. Andreas Ihle re pacts hold them

back. But of two go through. Mukhtar Mohammed his second. That

is a better move. He keeps getting pushed back each time. He is using

up valuable energy. He will have to attack hard round the top bend.

Mukhtar Mohammed is any good place. He has got to be strong. It looks

as though he will be. He had to be strong. Pushing, shoving, that is

what you get indoors. It is not nice or pretty. You have got to

look after yourself. He did it reasonably well. He did not panic.

The exactly. A bit of inexperience showing. He did not impose himself

enough on the race. Fighting hard down there and salvaging the winner.

-- the wind. Johan Rogestedt, look at his gritted teeth. He looks more

controlled and relax from the other angle. He will blow-outs and

cobwebs and go into the next round more confident. What you would say,

he has won and that is good but the last lap was the best lap. There

were for that laps and the best was the last one. When you have got

that ability, you do not panic. -- there were four Labs. We might have

expected him to move through. The main thing was he did not try and

make up the ground. He did not panic. He got another shot as he

came round the last bend. He knows where he needs to go. He is looking

forward and maintaining his start. He does not look like he is

panicking. He is just showing his inexperience a bit. The other men

are bigger. He is new at this level. He spent a lot of last year trying

to qualify and did not make it. He has burst through. He comes isn the

fastest time. It came through at the end, his talent, and he was

able to control it and get what he needed. It will have done him good

to have that run. He will run a more constantly in the next round.

more constantly in the next round. -- more confidently. There was a

lot of bumping and battling their. It is not pretty sometimes. It is

not what I wanted. Today, I ran his race, the Swedish man. He had a

good crowd behind him. I said to myself in the race, do not panic,

have a good finish. Today I was disappointed in my race. But I am

glad I got through. It is all part of the learning curve. This is all

new to you. It is getting used to the atmosphere and the race. You

might have to impose yourself on the race more. Indoors is very

difficult. There is a lot of pushing and shoving. You cannot

waste energy. A key is to come through with a victory which is

what you did. What confidence does that give you? Before, my

confidence was high, because I know I can get into the final. Hopefully,

I can get in the final night. We wish you well for tomorrow. Thank

He won, not all that quick. The former youth champion takes the

second spot. The other three will Bleasdale. The smile comes to her

face for the first time during this competition. The plant was good, a

little bit of a drift to the right hands cyber nothing too serious.

Her safety over but he will have to men's 800m, Mukhtar Mohammed

already through, and Joe Thomas must try to do the same ball Great

Britain. -- the same for Great the trials, the UK Indoor

Championship in Sheffield. Last season ruined by a stress fracture

to his chin. Hoping for much more happy with the way he ran things,

what will but the tactic Roger Thomas be? -- what will the tactic

for Joe Thomas? Jan Kubista, his father ran in the inaugural World

Championships, won bike Steve Cram. Watch for Kevin Lopez, the Spanish

guys sitting comfortably in Fort at the minute, sorry, faith. 5th

Surrey 5th. He is going to bide his time. Jo Thomas is where he wants

to be right now and hole in a the outside very experienced

athlete. Jo Thomas still out in front. And the Hungarian, Tamas

Kazi, alongside. Looking fairly comfortable. The Norwegian then

there as well. Spiller 26. Look at the pace of Kevin Lopez, coming

round the outside -- Adne Sv Dahlin. Suddenly it, the pace is up a lot

quicker. Jo Thomas Adam front and here comes Kevin Lopez, the first

two go through automatically and it is still Joe Thomas. And Lopez

alongside him, those two having a look around and having a look at

each other. Looking to see if they go through. They do go through. A

good run from Joe Thomas and Lopez is there and they are the two

automatic qualifiers. Tamas Kazi run out in third place. Kevin Lopez

was number two. Their impressive by Joe Thomas. He was leading the way

-- are very impressive. He was then able to wind it up and stay in

control. Lopez trying to come back at them and they were not able to

get there. Looking very good. front from the start and at the end

as well. Tamas Kazi just run out. A can see that he is not tying up at

all, -- Joe Thomas running. We thought he would get back -- we

thought that Kevin Lopez would get back at him but he did not. Just

looking round to make sure he can hold on to the second qualifying

spot. The women's 800m looks strong as well. Jo Thomas Winning the

second heat of the men's 800. I just waited for confirmation of

that. A good high risk strategy that Joe plays. He makes it slow.

That was really impressive. Confirmation of it. Not the

quickest time, but he looked very composed and controlled. Kevin

Lopez, very experienced, could not quite get to him and had to sit

back and hope for Tamas Kazi and Jan Kubista, but they were a bit

too slow possibly. Phil Jones is a patient man, he is calling him in

now with a biscuit and a cup of tea. Joe in complete contrast to the

first hit with Mukhtar Mohammed. Yes, I tried to control the race,

everybody wants to be at the front and when you are there, you need to

hold your line. The Norwegian tried to squeeze through but no room on

the inside. I made sure of that, my coach would have killed me! Overall,

how pleased are you with the preparations? Your look good at

there. I have been training well. I hit a bit of illness leading into

the British series but I knew it was there, I was just being patient.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. It is pretty cool, always nice to

Mukhtar Mohammed and Joe Thomas through to the semis. Michael

Rimmer goes in the 4th heat. Good news with Holly Bleasdale getting

over at the second attempt. You can take your finger off the panic

button, Denise! Yes, nervous times but good expectations that we were

thinking. She had to rectify some problems and in the first attempt,

she looked a bit laboured but this second attempt, a bit more positive

and a bit more committed. That is the result. A great clearance from

her. Settled the nerves and let's see her progress through this

qualification. We did not think she looked super sharp but we will come

back to that. Robbie is about to go the arena, and his will be his

first jump of the competition, let's hope he does not repeat

Holly's performers were the first jump. The European outdoor champion

nastier, that was where he burst on the scene. Before he got his

Olympic bronze medal. To become amazing. Probably has had a red can

put out in front of the high jump but because the high -- the 800m is

about to start. The third round. One young man I am interested in

watching his Zan Rudolf. Getting clipped from behind, lots of

pushing, Renars Stepins is running on the inside, and then Rudolph

pushing, the man at the front is not getting pushed. Zan Rudolf

could really perform here. In a bad position though, Paula. Yes, he

started off. He looked as if he was getting into the right position

with no fear and then proceeded to get ready shoved around in the next

couple of 100m. I think the experience is showing with Luis

Alberto Marco. He is controlling the race. 55.3 and they know they

have gone a bit quicker. And also Renars Stepins has stepped off, but

on the outside, young Zan Rudolf, fighting for a position. They are

like Spitfires attacking out of this guy. And now Thijmen Kupers is

fighting. They take the bell and a Dutch man in the lead. Only the top

two to go through. It may be that the fastest loser goes through.

Look at Zan Rudolf. In 19-year-old showing that he has got pace but

Luis Alberto Marco has got experience. It will be a real

sprint to the line here. He has got the strength? Thijmen Kupers is

still holding him. It could be Zan Rudolf losing out. Luis Alberto

Marco and Thijmen Kupers, the two. It will be close with two more heat

to come up. Messy again and you would think, Paula, if you were the

coach for that young lad, this 19- year-old is good. Where he was in

the first two laps, he got pushed around a bit but you want to get a

smooth run in the early rounds and he did not get that. Exactly, you

could see his number was half hanging off and he spent a lot of

time running in lane three there. Bethan that they wasted a lot of

energy and it just meant that he was on the back foot and not able

last lap, he is putting himself in the right position to be able to

attack but he has used other bit of energy and he is running wide as he

comes round this band. Thijmen Kupers is holding out the youngster

wide. You can see how he is leaning in and not able to finish in the

straight to close it. It was a slow heat and tough qualifying

conditions with only two elbows and experience to good

effect. As well as Thijmen Kupers. Zan Rudolf would be the fastest

loser at the moment but with two more heat, the chances might be

at Robbie Grabarz, 2.18 metres. He took off a long way from the bar

but soared over. Just the third athlete to go clear. This is the

second ball of qualification for the high jump. These guys have got

the distinct advantage and they know exactly how high they need to

achieve and it will not be the automatic qualifying height of 2.31,

Denise, a nice, comfortable Clements from Robbie Grabarz there.

No guarantee it will happen easily. No, and he will not want to take

any chances with this. He is looking good and he knows he is in

good shape. All he has to do is to be sensible and he knows he can get

through. Lots of people that can jump around 2.30, some big guys in

Europe have got over that height and he is right up there in the

next. -- in the next. He is so confident and he took off miles

away -- in the mix. This is about making sure that he gets the

clearance and he said in his interview, he is further out. He is

stronger, carrying much more speed and he had to make that allowance.

He will have to play with his run up but he is looking good.

Automatic qualification at 2.31, we doubt it will take that to get

through to the final. Micheal Rimmer looking for a good

performance, a great performance in this, he raced in the 600 metres in

Birmingham, that was his first ever indoor race. He had a bit of a

collision with Abubaker Kaki but the result was allowed to stand.

His main rival here, Andreas Bube and Giordano Benedetti. The first

two will go through automatically. It will be tense for those waiting

for the fastest losers and Micheal Rimmer's tactic at the moment, to

hang back alongside Andreas Bube and let the others have a go. A bit

of a bar-room brawl in the previous heat. Micheal Rimmer not

experienced in the indoor races. Yes, he is very new to indoor

racing as his first ending in Birmingham ended in a collision

where he showed his inexperience. He also does not sit easily, he

does not want to add too much pressure on his shoulders. He is

racing in his lucky T-shirt someone to take it quicker. They

have not got to run much faster to guarantee themselves a spot.

earnest manner in the race is out in front at the moment. Michael

Rimmer as having a look around at the moment. Andreas Bube is that

the bat. He will have to make a move now. The paced lifts once more.

-- the pace. Michael Rimmer will put the squeeze on and try and ease

around the outside. Andreas Bube is holding him off. Michael Rimmer