World 1500m champion has to settle for silver following narrow to defeat to Spaniard, while Crippa wins 10,000m

World 1500m champion Jake Wightman came close to winning European gold at 800m but was ultimately denied by another global champion – Mariano Garcia – in Munich.

The Spaniard, who won the world indoor title earlier this year, has been in patchy outdoor form and his best outdoor time this summer – 1:45.74  – ranked him just 33rd in Europe, while he was eliminated at the semi-final stage in Eugene.

However, in Germany, the 24-year-old ran a brilliant tactical race, taking the lead just before the bell (52.06) and then running the shortest route which proved crucial as his rivals – including Wightman – had to run wider. The winning margin was just 0.06 of a second.

European under-23 champion Simone Barontini had led through 200m, with Wightman fourth (25.35) and Garcia seventh (25.77).

The Spaniard then moved to the front and was pursued at the bell by 2014 bronze medallist Mark English (52.18) and Commonwealth bronze medallist Ben Pattison (52.20), who was running a far more aggressive race than normal and was perfectly placed while Wightman was boxed on the inside (52.41) in fourth.

Garcia eased a little through to 500m (65:49) but then pushed a little harder at 600m (78.59) with Pattison (78.70), Elliott Crestan (78.72), English (78.73) and Wightman now free in fifth in 78.84 but the whole field were only covered by 0.8 of a second.

The leader ran the final bend in 13.05 but even quicker was Wightman (12.91), despite running wide,  and he was only a metre down and ready to strike as Pattison faded to fifth while Crestan and English looked mounted their medal challenges.

At one stage it looked as if the Briton would get past in the close metres but Garcia gritted his teeth and held the smallest of margins as his last 100m was a modest 13.21 but Wightman managed 13.16. The winning time was ultimately a PB of 1:44.85, while Wightman’s 1:44.91 was a season’s best.

He said: “I came into this wanting to add to my world title and I got very close but I’ve got a gold, silver and [Commonwealth] bronze from the season so I’ve got a full set. Garcia finished very strong and I felt I was in the right place but I didn’t quite have the strength to pull him back and towards the end it never really come back.”

English was a clear third in 1:45.19 with the 2018 silver medallist Andreas Kramer, usually a front runner, abandoned those tactics after it worked in the semis and could only finish fourth in 1:45.38 while Benjamin Robert, who had run 1:43.75 to win the Paris Diamond League, ran 1:45.42 for fifth while Pattison was sixth in 1:45.63.

Yemane Crippa won an 10,000m that started quickly, slowed in the middle and then sped up again at the finish as he ran down surprise package Zerei Kbrom Mezngi, who was born in Eritrea but represents Norway, on the finishing straight.

European Cup winner Jimmy Gressier set a fast initial pace (8:09 at 3000m) but he then eased back and the pace dropped to 13:53 at halfway.

Crippa started to pick the pace up again in the eighth kilometre but the surprise came when a lap of 62.00 gave the Norwegian a clear lead and he kept the pressure on with a 63.07. After realising that third-placed Gressier was not going to close the gap, however, Crippa kicked and a last lap of 56 seconds took him to victory.

The Italian won in 27:46.13 from Mezngi’s 27:46.94 PB while Yann Shrub (27:47.17 PB) finished quicker than anyone down the straight and was a delighted bronze medallist as he left fellow countryman Gressier a disappointed fourth in 27:49.94.

Crippa, who had previously won two European bronzes (10,000m in 2018 and 5000m in 2022) and impressively won the Night of the 10,000s in 27:16.18, thus won his first major title. A surprise sixth was Ireland’s Efrem Gidey in a PB 27:59.22.

It was not a great night for Great Britain over 25 laps, however.

Emile Cairess and Marc Scott were in the mix at 8km but a Covid-affected Scott dropped off on the next lap and, though Cairess held on for another lap and a half, he also dropped back. Scott passed him on the last lap, but Cairess moved ahead again in the last 10 metres as the pair were 11th (28:07.37) and 12th (28:07.72) respectively.

Sam Atkin stumbled very badly when the contest became a mid-race jog and did amazingly well to stay on his feet but he jarred his back badly and dropped out a few laps later.