Great Britain’s Jeremiah Azu claimed men’s 60m gold at the European Athletics Indoor Championships to land his first individual international title, as team-mate Andrew Robertson won bronze.
Azu, 23, ran a personal best of 6.49 seconds to cross the line ahead of Sweden’s Henrik Larsson in 6.52, with Robertson third in 6.55 in Saturday night’s final.
Having qualified fastest from the morning heats, Azu made a further statement by setting a European-leading time and then personal best 6.52 secs in the semi-finals.
But he saved his best for the medal race, which took place just two and a half hours later, to clinch GB’s first gold in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I won it. I thought Henrik was five metres in front of me. When you’re in a line you can’t really tell what is going on. I was pushing every bit of me to the line,” Azu, who has returned his training to the UK following the birth of his son, told BBC Sport.
“I know I’m in the right place and this confirmed to me that I’ve made the right decisions. This is just the start of the journey for us as a team. We are coming to take it all and I’m excited to be on this journey now.”
Azu becomes the ninth British man to win the title – and first since Richard Kilty won back-to-back titles in 2017.
Podium finishes for Azu and Robertson follow the bronze medals won by 1500m runner Revee Walcott-Nolan and the mixed 4x400m relay quartet.
It is a first individual international medal for 34-year-old Robertson, who received a late call-up to the squad and finished fourth in 2021.
“This time last week I was having a cheesecake, I was having a great time with my family in Scarborough,” Robertson joked.
“I got the call on Wednesday to be a reserve but I was always prepared [to compete] because it has been my goal for a long time. Aged 34, to come away with my second-fastest time ever, I can’t ask for any more.”
