Gold medals galore at the European Masters Indoor Championships in Toruń, Poland, on Sunday

Tom Nichols, Clare Elms, Chris Upson and Anthony OBrien struck gold in Poland as Britain won 17 medals on Sunday (March 17).

The 3000m were the only track finals taking place at the famous indoor arena but the first gold medal of the day went to M35 high jumper Nichols.

The former South of England champion a 2.11m jumper at his best cleared 1.95m here in winning his first masters title.

The first to strike gold on the track was Elms who won her first W60 title but repeated her 3000m win from Toruń over 15 laps from 2019 when she won the W55 world title.

Here she led all the way and up until halfway was on schedule to add the world W60 mark to the W55 3000m mark she still holds but with three more races to go decided to ease back for a gold in 11:15.17 as she won by over 20 seconds from Italys Elena Fustella.

Britains next gold went to Chris Upson and was also in the over-60 category. The much improved Scot ran in Toruń five years ago but was only 13th in the M55 race and this time was almost 40 seconds quicker.

Content to let Ireneusz Kasprzak from the host nation Poland to build a good lead, he chased him down with world M60 champion Dave Clarke on his shoulder but in the last kilometre he kicked away to win in 9:48.87 with the Northern Ireland runner a clear second in 9:54.76. Britain made it three in four with Greg Penn fourth.

Last year  Upson had only been fourth in the 1500m and eighth in the 5000m at the outdoor Euro Masters and he curiously warmed up for this years race by being first finisher in the Toruń parkrun in 18:18 the day before.

OBrien, a former senior international, was the days final winner and it was no surprise as he had won the world title in Poland last year.

He led a pack of six over the second half of the race and kicked from the front to win in 9:03.69 from Spaniard Juan Crespos 9:04.28.

Simon Coombes was fifth in 9:06.47.

The next closest athlete to winning was European Masters W50 800m champion Nikki Sturzaker. She had tracked Spaniard Marta Camps throughout and as they hit the final straight she kicked to overtake but 10 metres from the finish when clearly moving the quicker her hamstring pulled and she fell heavily.

She got up but was unable to walk and was overtaken by second and third too and failed to finish and wont be able to compete in the other three competitions she has entered.

Camps won in 10:26.19 and her injury cost Sturzaker a 20 second PB.

John Thomson was second in the M65 3000m in 10:44.62 to Finn Jukka Kauppilas 10:33.49.

Laura Haggarty got a second in the W35 3000m in 10:42.30 and British W55 marathon record-holder Sue McDonald was third in her 3000m in 11:24.07 a race won by Irelands Annette Kealy in 10:59.44 and Ros Tabor was third in the W70 3000m in 14:55.93.

In the field W35 high jumper Nia Rutter (1.55m) was second while Melanie Garland got a share of the W60 bronze despite cutting her head badly on the upright and had to withdraw without taking her final jump at 1.27m having cleared 1.23m.

Other high jump medals went the way of M45 high jumper Clint Nicholls who cleared 1.80m for second a position matched by M50 Andrew England and M60 Steve Linsell who both jumped 1.60m.

In the W60 long jump Jo Willoughby leapt 4.40m but lost out to Germanys Birgit Burzlaffs European record 4.62m.

Iris Holder took W80 bronze with 2.54m just 14cm away from winning the title.

W65 Carole Filer was only 11 centimetres from gold but lost bronze on countback with a 3.98m leap.

In the outdoor throws where some competitors had to deal with snow flurries, Laurensa Britane was second with a 35.69m throw to Irelands Rachek Akers 36.81m.

Results
M35 3000: 1 P Berben BEL 8:40.48. HJ: 1 TOM NICHOLS GBR 1.95; 2 A Kasprzak POL 1.85. HT: 1 B Goldyn POL 53.92

M40 3000: A Liuzzo ITA 8:56.80; 9 GURMIT SINGH GBR 9:28.72. HJ: 1 N Papp HUN 1.85. HT: 1 P Grochowalski POL 48.45; 8 DAMIAN LARRINGTON GBR 37.51

M45 3000: 1 G Kujawski POL 8:52.61. HJ: 1 N Portemer FRA 1.85; 2 CLINT NICHOLLS GBR 1.80

M50 3000: 1 ANTHONY OBRIEN GBR 9:03.69; 2 J Crespo ESP 9:04.28; 5 SIMON COOMBES GBR 9:06.47; 7 TIM HELY GBR 9:38.11; 10 STEVE HALLAS GBR 10:10.20. HJ: 1 P Szewera POL 1.65; eq2 ANDREW ENGLAND GBR 1.60; 5 CHRIS NESs GBR 1.50. WT: 1 M Walczak POL 22.02; 6 DARREN KERR GBR 16.34

M55 3000: 1 P Van Velden NED 9:04.58; 6 ANDREW RIDLEY GBR 9:36.49; 10 JOSEPH GONZALEZ-ARMAS GBR 10:14.01. HJ: G Farmaks GRE 1.78. WT: 1 G Misevicius LTU 19.74; 5 GARETH COOK GBR 16.53

M60 3000: 1 CHRIS UPSON GBR 9:48.87; 2 DAVID CLARKE GBR 9:54.76; 4 GREG PENN GBR 10:05.57. HJ: 1 R Weber GER 1.85; 2 STEVE LINSELL GBR 1.60. WT: 1 A Cavalero POR 19.29; 9 LINSELL GBR 15.00; 10 ALLAN LEIPER GBR 14.60

M65 3000: 1 Jukka Kauppila FIN 10:33.49; 2 JOHN THOMSON GBR 10.44.62; 6 DAVID ROWE GBR 11:13.32; 7 DAVE WATSON GBR 11:21.79; 8 STEVE TAYLOR GBR 11:22.71. HJ: 1 H Kasap TUR 1.53

M70 3000: 1 V Kiessel LUX 11:19.62; 2 B Lynch IRL 11:24.34; 8 STUART THORP GBR 13:00.89. HJ: eq 1 V Milius LTU/U Tudem NOR 1.45

M75 3000: 1 H Smeets NED 12:43.18; 5 ALAN APPLEBY 13:44.51. HJ: eq1 M Mielcarek POL/D Prezelj SLO/V Cela LAT/R Sundell FIN 1.35

M80 3000: 1 A Jonson SWE 14:36.51; 5 BARRY ROBERTS 19:07.87. HJ: 1 J Lamp EST 1.23

M85 3000: 1 J Noe DEN 17:09.46. HJ: 1 W Klaus GER 1.20

W35: 3000: 1 S Michalak POL   10:39.39; 2 LAURA HAGGARTY GBR 10:42.30; 6 HARRIET SLADE GBR 11:12.16. HJ: 1 M Lindholm FIN 1.71 ; 2 NIA RUTTER GBR 1.55. DT: 1 R Akers IRL 36.81; 2 LAURANE BRITANE GBR 35.69; 6 SUZANNA WISE GBR 29.09

W40 3000: 1 E Jagielska POL 10:28.56; 2 F Gettings IRL10:31.94; 5 LISA GARTHORNE 10:44.19. HJ: 1 A Plonka POL 1.60. DT: 1 M Slok Hansen DEN 40.97

W45 3000: 1 D Woszczek POL 10:27.09. HJ: eq 1 S Kocic SRB/ M Vicente ESP/ D Kliche GER 1.40. DT: 1 J Denz GER 34.28

W50: 3000: 1 M Camps ESP 10:26.19. HJ: 1 M Gross GER 1.45. DT: 1 B Schardt GER 40.43

W55: 3000: 1 A Kealy IRL 10:59.44; 3 SUSAN McDONALD GBR 11:24.97. HJ: 1 B Gahling GER 1.48. DT: 1 M Wysocka POL 37.12; 10 JAN TIMBERLAKE GBR  15.64

W60: 3000: 1 CLARE ELMS GBR 11:15.17; 2 E Fustella ITA 11:36.70; 8 MARGARET WADMAN GBR  13:23.68. W60: 1 F Viebahn GER 1.40; eq 3 MELANIE GARLAND GBR 1.23; 7 GAYE CLARKE 1.15. LJ: 1 B Burzlaff GER 4.62 (ER); 2 JO WILLOUGHBY GBR 4.40; 4 GARLAND GBR 4.30; 7 SUSAN FRISBY GBR 4.14. DT: 1 J Hole NOR 36.91; 5 HAZEL BARKER GBR 22.67; 7 WENDY DUNSFORD GBR 17.43

W65: 3000: 1 B Reinke-Wiese GER 12:50.04. HJ: 1 M Escribano ESP  1.33; 8 CAROLE FILER GBR 1.21; 10 JEANETTE ASHTON GBR 1.09. LJ: 1 A Salminen FIN 4.09; 4 FILER  3.98

W70 3000: 1 M Goettnauer GER 14:03.15; 3 ROS TABOR 14:55.93. LJ: 1 M Huflatten NOR 3.56; 4 EMILY McMAHON GBR 3.19

W75 3000: 1 C Alonso ESP 15:18.50. LJ: 1 I Bluhm DEN 3.13

W80 3000: 1 H Kivisto FIN 18:17.21. LJ: 1 K Viitanen FIN 2.68; 3 IRIS HOLDER GBR 2.54

W85 3000: 1 A Woodlock IRL 19:30.06