Archer seals silver after rollercoaster of emotions at the Euro Indoor Championships
Holly Archer capped her senior debut with a 1500m silver medal which added to the British tally on Saturday evening at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun. This came after a rollercoaster of emotional turmoil, having been initially disqualified.
In a dramatic women’s 1500m, Holly Archer (handicap -1.2) fought through the field in the final two laps and produced an impreesive sprint finish to move up into second position in 4:19.91 to claim her first senior international medal.
An incredibly cagey start saw all nine athletes bunched up over a 2:30 first 800m, before a rapid increase in pace with two laps remaining caught everyone by surprise, with Archer and teammate Katie Snowden (handicap -1.7) boxed in towards the back.
But the Cambridge & Coleridge athlete held her nerve and timed her move perfectly, kicking off the final curve to climb from third to second, finishing just behind Belgian Elise Vanderelst, who took the crown in 4:18.44, with Snowden finishing sixth in 4:21.81.
Archer was made to wait for confirmation of her medal following an initial disqualification for obstruction but was reinstated following a successful appeal.
After being confirmed as silver medallist, she said: “That was the longest wait ever. It was supposed to be half an hour but it turned into three hours. I feel absolutely delighted. To come so close and then get it taken away, I’ve been on a rollercoaster, but I’m really happy to finally get that silver.
“It was a scrappy race, but I feel like I raced it the best that I could given the circumstances. I don’t think I could have done anything better. I just wanted to stay out of trouble for as long as possible and show what I could do on the last lap.
“I literally have no memories. It was a total blur. From the gun, it was just jostling. The first 10m, arms and legs were going everywhere so I don’t really remember much. All I remember is being fifth or sixth. “
“It’s been an incredible experience. I came into this final with the ambition of getting the gold. I know I was fully capable of doing that today. If it was a faster race, I think I might have done it, so I’m devastated about that, but I’m happy that I still came away with the silver in a really tactical race. The experience has been amazing, and I will definitely learn from this in the future. “
In the first action of the night, British 800m trio Keely Hodgkinson (handicap -2.1), Issy Boffey (handicap -1.5) and Ellie Baker (handicap -1.5) safely progressed into tomorrow’s 800m finals with commanding performances.
Hodgkinson controlled her race from the off and kicked away from the field in the final 150m to ease home in 2:03.11, the fastest time of the semis, with Boffey jumping from fourth to first heading into the final lap of the second semi-final and keeping her composure in the home straight to take second in 2:03.34.
Baker ensured it would be a hat-trick for the British women as she took command in the final 150m and opened up a comfortable gap to the chasing pack, easing down to secure second position in 2:03.29.
Hodgkinson assessed afterwards: “I knew I wanted it to be a little bit quicker than yesterday because I didn’t want anyone to sneak up or sneak through, so I thought I’ll take it from the front. I wasn’t expecting to take the lead that early, but I just went with it and I knew I was going to be strong enough to hold off. It was about taking the pace and keeping it strong.
“I knew what I could do. It was just about not panicking. Sometimes things don’t always go your way in races, but today, I’m glad to make the final and go home and rest for tomorrow.
“It’s really exciting, the girls really deserve it. Both of them are so strong. Issy came through strong and Ellie held on at the end. To get three out of three through to the final when most people weren’t expecting it, is really good.”
In the men’s equivalent, Jamie Webb (handicap -6.4) underlined his medal credentials with polished performance to make into tomorrow night’s final, but teammate Guy Learmonth (handicap -6.5) missed out in fourth-place.
Webb was made to work hard for his place in the final as Sweden’s Andreas Kramer led the race off at championship record pace and found himself needing to make a move in the last lap to ensure safe progression.
The Liverpool Harrier kept his form and pushed past the Swede with 100m to go and clocked an impressive 1:45.99, his second fastest time of the year for second position behind Poland’s Mateusz Borkowski.
In a cagey first semi-final, Learmonth found himself jostling for position heading into the final lap and found himself run out of things in the home straight by 2019 world 800m silver medallist Amel Tuka (BIH), having to settle for fourth in 1:47.92.
Webb assessed afterwards: “It’s the craziest race I’ve ever been in! I’m not sure if I’ll be in one like that again. It had everything It was the fastest first 200m I’ve ever had to run. I started to try and make a move.
“I got pushed, cut up and spiked by Mateusz [Borkowski] which is why I guess he’s been disqualified, but I don’t know for sure. I then just had to keep my calm. It was so fast. I felt like I swam the last 400m just because of how choppy it was. It was a crazy one, but I’m in the final and that’s all that matters.
“The men’s 800m is so unpredictable. There are two world champions in the race tomorrow, an outdoor world champion, an indoor world champion, a man who’s won six world titles and a bronze medallist from Doha, so it’s probably the most stacked indoor final that it could possibly be.
“I’ve just got to lean on those guys now. I’ve still got to get more medals to my name, but that’s where I pitch myself. The first job is to go and recover. I’ve got 23 hours to get back together and tomorrow I’ll go for the win. I want another medal.”
British medallists at the 2021 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland:
Gold
Amy-Eloise Markovc (handicap -2.2) women’s 3000m
Silver
Holly Archer (handicap -1.2) women’s 1500m
Bronze
Verity Ockenden (handicap -1.7) women’s 3000m
Also
Jodie Williams (women’s 400m)
Holly Bradshaw (women’s pole vault)
Final Evening LOCAL Timetable
60mH Starting at 4 pm UK time
