Neil Gourley goes toe-to-toe in 1500m with Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the European Indoors in Turkey
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‘I definitely thought I could win on that last lap’: Britain’s Neil Gourley goes head-to-head in the 1500m with Jakob Ingebrigtsen at the European Indoors in Turkey… but only takes silver after Norwegian Olympic champion don’t let it go
- The Scotsman tried it on the last lap and finished just 0.28sec behind Ingebrigtsen.
- In the same event, Gourley’s teammate George Mills was knocked down on the first lap.
- Daryll Neita was also disappointed to only take bronze in the women’s 60m.
Once again, a Briton went head-to-head with Jakob Ingebrigtsen in a 1500m grand final. Only this time there would be no stopping the Norwegian superstar.
Jake Wightman stunned the 22-year-old Ingebrigtsen last summer when he beat her to gold at the World Championships in Eugene. But lightning couldn’t strike twice at the European Indoors in Istanbul on Friday night, as the Olympic champion withstood a challenge from Neil Gourley.
The 28-year-old Scotsman gave it a go on the final lap and finished just 0.28sec behind Ingebrigtsen, who set a new championship record of 3min 33.95sec. Silver was Gourley’s first big medal, but he later admitted: “There are mixed emotions because I thought I could beat Jakob today.”
‘I definitely thought I could win on that last lap. I got closer, but when I moved, he reacted very well.
He is one of the best of all time, but he is very beatable. Jake got better and beat him last summer and that’s what I’m trying to do this year.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway, Neil Gourley of Great Britain and Azeddine Habz of France compete during the men’s 1500m final
The 28-year-old Scotsman gave it a go on the final lap and finished just 0.28sec behind Ingebrigtsen, who set a new championship record of 3min 33.95sec. Silver was Gourley’s first major medal.
There was heartbreak in the same event for Gourley’s teammate George Mills, who was knocked down on the first lap and finished last.
Mills, son of former English footballer Danny, looked furious as he reached the finish line, saying: ‘Someone cut me off or tripped me from behind. I am broken. I felt ready to do something today. I think the third one was there for the taking.
Britain’s Daryll Neita was also disappointed to have taken bronze in the women’s 60m in a time of 7.12 seconds, with Swiss sprinter Mujinga Kambundji winning and equaling the championship record of 7 seconds.
“I’m not particularly happy with this result,” Neita said. “It’s amazing to bring home a medal, but I would have liked more.”
Melissa Courtney-Bryant claimed Great Britain’s first medal in Istanbul with a bronze in the women’s 3,000m. The 29-year-old finished behind Germany’s Hanna Klein and Konstanze Klosterhalfen.