Jake Heyward rues missed opportunity after European silver

By Will Jennings in Munich

Jake Heyward rued a missed opportunity after narrowly missing out on a shock European Championship title.

The Welsh middle distance star ran a scintillating race to seal silver at the multi-sport championships but reckons he could have caught world 5000m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen on a dramatic night in Munich.

Heyward, 23, ran a time of 3:34.44 as Ingebrigtsen, the world silver medallist behind British star Jake Wightman, delivered a daring front-running display to finish almost two seconds ahead and grab gold.

The former European Under-20 champion says he struggled with illness coming into the competition and believes he has the ability to beat the Norwegian when he’s firing on all cylinders.

Heyward, who finished fifth for Team Wales at the Commonwealth Games, said: “To turn around and come away with a medal means I’m happy.

“But I’m also disappointed that I couldn’t be up there with Jacob and try and push him – it was always a separate race.

“Jakob tried to dictate the pace – I thought it was a smart move to track him but I just didn’t feel as good as last week in Birmingham.

“The shape I’m in, I should have been up there with him but given how I felt with illness on Monday, to overcome that and win a silver medal is okay.

“I think at the end of the day, it’s working for Jakob. You’ve got to be super strong to be able to do that – it’s not an easy tactic and you’ve got to be brave.

“I respect him for that and it’s super impressive – at the end of the day, he’s winning European Championships and performing on the day when it matters.”

Heyward has enjoyed a rock-solid season and finished fourth at the British National Championships in Manchester in June.

A shot at Commonwealth glory for Wales soon followed but he was unable to haul himself onto the podium as Australian Ollie Hoare, Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot and Wightman – who is competing in the 800m rather than the 1500m in Munich this week – won gold, silver and bronze.

Heyward believes he’s in the shape of his life and qualified for Thursday night’s European final from fifth in his heat.

He remained hot on Ingebrigtsen’s heels throughout the thrilling contest but was unable to spring a shock and finished second ahead of Spaniard Mario Garcia.

Heyward added: “It’s an amazing feeling.

“As a GB athlete, you’re expected to be on that podium and if you don’t, that’s a failure.

“I’ve been able to get a medal here and that shows the strength in depth in our squad.”

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