• European Athletics Championships

Chambers finishes fifth as Lewis-Francis claims silver

Dwain Chambers clocked the same time as four other sprinters © Getty Images

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European Championships: Day two in pictures

Dwain Chambers failed to become the new European 100m champion on Wednesday evening, losing his head-to-head duel with Christophe Lemaitre in Barcelona.

Chambers was attempting to claim his first European title, having previously had his gold medal stripped after a failed drugs test back in 2003. The Briton talked of Wednesday's final being his 'rebirth', but he did not even finish in the top three as Mark Lewis-Francis claimed silver.

Chambers had looked the strongest of all the 100m sprinters in the semi-finals, and he got a fantastic start in Wednesday's final. However, as soon as Lemaitre got into his stride he reeled in the Brit as Chambers faded towards the line. The 32-year-old eventually claimed fifth place, despite clocking an identical time to Lewis-Francis, as four athletes all crossed the line together.

Lemaitre's winning time was a distinctly unspectacular 10.11s, which shows Chambers would have taken gold at a canter had he reproduced his season's best 9.99s.

In the men's 400m, Martyn Rooney scraped into the final as one of the fastest losers after finishing third in one of the most hotly-contested European Championship semi-finals of all time. Starting in lane six, Rooney was second coming off the final bend but he quickly fell behind to finish with a time of 45.00s.

Rooney's heat time on Tuesday was 45.72s, which displays the difference in quality required to reach the final as Belgium's Jonathan Borlee came home first in a European leading time of 44.71s. The run from Borlee was also a national record.

Frenchman Leslie Djhone proved the greatest problem for Rooney, leading the Brit off the final bend and then holding on for a time of 44.87s in second place. However, the pace of the race proved a blessing for Rooney as he qualified as the fastest loser, giving him a chance of redemption on Friday.

Andy Baddeley was in excellent form in the men's 1500m © Getty Images

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There were no such problems for Michael Bingham and Ireland's David Gillick, who finished second and first respectively in the second semi-final. Gillick's winning time was an impressive 44.79s, but compatriot Gordon Kennedy and Conrad Williams could not follow suit in the other semi.

In the women's 400m, Lee McConnell failed to qualify for the final after a disappointing run in the first of three heats. With the fastest two from each heat, plus the two quickest losers, reaching Friday's final, McConnell clocked 53.15 to finish fourth in her heat.

British pair Eilidh Child and Perri Shakes-Drayton both qualified for the women's 400m hurdles final but will face a tough ask to get amongst the medals. Child judged her race well before fading down the home straight, eventually qualifying as a fastest loser in fourth. Shakes-Drayton was more comfortable, progressing automatically in third in the second semi-final.

There will certainly be a strong British medal chance in the men's 1500m, with Andy Baddeley utterly dominant in his semi-final. The UK champion clocked a time of 3:41.46s to cross the line in first place, and he will be joined by Colin McCourt who snatched fourth. Tom Lancashire also looks an extremely exciting prospect after he led the second semi into the home straight, before switching off the after-burners early to clock a time of 3:41.68s in third place.

In addition to the men's 100m final, there were four other gold medals handed out on Wednesday, with Sandra Perkovic winning the women's discus, Ineta Radevica claiming the women's long jump, Elvan Abeylegesse triumphing in the women's 10,000m, and Libor Charfreitag taking the men's hammer.

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