Jacob Paul vows to build on European Championships experience

By Andreas Schoinarakis in Munich

Jacob Paul vowed to build on the valuable experiences of the multi-sport European Championships in Munich after narrowly missing the 400m hurdles final.

The Surrey hurdler finished fifth in his semi-final heat with a time of 49.48s, just behind Swiss athlete Julien Bonvin who qualified for the final with a time of 49.10s.

Paul’s heat was the fastest of the three semi-finals and was won by Norwegian world record holder Karsten Warholm in 48.38s.

Paul finished in tenth place in his first senior Team GB appearance at a major championships, following plenty of good performances representing GB at junior level.

He said: “I mean 10th in Europe sounds good, I am pretty happy with that.

“Running twice quicker than my PB coming into it shows some good strength, good fitness.

“[It’s] a bit of a shame, I couldn't go a little bit quicker today. I think that's what it would have taken to qualify.

“I feel like I have an even quicker race in my legs. A 49 or maybe even sub 49 is within my capability. So yeah, hopefully, it’s an experience to build on.”

The 27-year-old came into the championships with a personal best of 49.49s from 2017 and ran faster than that on both of his races; a clocking of 49.40s now stands as his new personal best.

Paul added: “It was a massive experience, I mean [it’s] amazing to come out here and compete in such a nice stadium.

“It's for sure the best track, best stadium, best arena I've raced in all year.

“So yeah, [it’s] really nice to be able to do this and that's the environment I want to be in is running - against the best in the world and being competitive.”

Stoke’s Seamus Derbyshire was also in action, finishing 15th overall with a time of 49.63s.

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the German city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website