European Indoor Athletics: Andrew Pozzi wins 60m hurdles gold
Briton Andrew Pozzi won gold in the 60m hurdles at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade.
The 24-year-old claimed his first European indoor title in a time of 7.51 seconds.
France's defending champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde took silver, with Czech Petr Svoboda in third.
"It was a scrappy race so I really had to work hard to get back after a slow start but I'm really happy," Pozzi told BBC Sport.
Pozzi, who qualified fastest for the final, trailed out of the blocks before surging back to edge out Martinot-Lagarde by 0.01secs.
"At halfway I thought 'I'm not losing this one' and just gave everything and gave a big dip on the line," he said.
"It was closer than I would've liked but I got there in the end."
In winning Great Britain's first gold medal of the championships, Pozzi also became the first Briton to win the men's 60m hurdles title since the last of Colin Jackson's three victories in 2002.
"Forget the time, he's got the title," said BBC Sport pundit Jackson, who holds the world record at the event of 7.30 seconds.
"He fought his way through and showed he is a true champion, that is the most important thing. He will be full of confidence, relieved and happy."
Germany's Cindy Roleder won gold in the women's 60m hurdles final, ahead of Alina Talay of Belarus and compatriot Pamela Dutkiewicz.
'I never thought I'd get here'After pulling up with a hamstring injury at the London 2012 Olympics, Pozzi endured several years of chronic foot injuries, having had several operations on both feet.
He missed out on qualifying for the Rio 2016 110m hurdles final but has been in impressive form this year, running a personal best indoor time of 7.43 secondsat the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix in February.
"It has been a long old road and I wasn't sure I'd ever get to the level I wanted to be at so to win with grit and determination, I'm over the moon," he said.
"This is the first championships I've come into with a good amount of work behind me and I felt really confident - to feel like I'm starting to get there means everything, it makes it worth it."
AnalysisOlympic heptathlon champion and BBC Sport pundit Denise Lewis
What Andy has done there is simply sublime - it wasn't the best technical race but he showed that his mindset is so strong
He was determined, he knew exactly what he needed to do and he delivered.
Sometimes you're not always in the best condition so it's about that winning mentality and knowing what to do when it counts.
He had to be more aggressive than he would've hoped to have been because we normally see him so silky smooth over the hurdles.
That was grit, determination and wanting that medal more than anything in the world and the ripple effect it could have on the rest of the British team is massive.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/39160075
The 24-year-old claimed his first European indoor title in a time of 7.51 seconds.
France's defending champion Pascal Martinot-Lagarde took silver, with Czech Petr Svoboda in third.
"It was a scrappy race so I really had to work hard to get back after a slow start but I'm really happy," Pozzi told BBC Sport.
Pozzi, who qualified fastest for the final, trailed out of the blocks before surging back to edge out Martinot-Lagarde by 0.01secs.
"At halfway I thought 'I'm not losing this one' and just gave everything and gave a big dip on the line," he said.
"It was closer than I would've liked but I got there in the end."
In winning Great Britain's first gold medal of the championships, Pozzi also became the first Briton to win the men's 60m hurdles title since the last of Colin Jackson's three victories in 2002.
"Forget the time, he's got the title," said BBC Sport pundit Jackson, who holds the world record at the event of 7.30 seconds.
"He fought his way through and showed he is a true champion, that is the most important thing. He will be full of confidence, relieved and happy."
Germany's Cindy Roleder won gold in the women's 60m hurdles final, ahead of Alina Talay of Belarus and compatriot Pamela Dutkiewicz.
'I never thought I'd get here'After pulling up with a hamstring injury at the London 2012 Olympics, Pozzi endured several years of chronic foot injuries, having had several operations on both feet.
He missed out on qualifying for the Rio 2016 110m hurdles final but has been in impressive form this year, running a personal best indoor time of 7.43 secondsat the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix in February.
"It has been a long old road and I wasn't sure I'd ever get to the level I wanted to be at so to win with grit and determination, I'm over the moon," he said.
"This is the first championships I've come into with a good amount of work behind me and I felt really confident - to feel like I'm starting to get there means everything, it makes it worth it."
AnalysisOlympic heptathlon champion and BBC Sport pundit Denise Lewis
What Andy has done there is simply sublime - it wasn't the best technical race but he showed that his mindset is so strong
He was determined, he knew exactly what he needed to do and he delivered.
Sometimes you're not always in the best condition so it's about that winning mentality and knowing what to do when it counts.
He had to be more aggressive than he would've hoped to have been because we normally see him so silky smooth over the hurdles.
That was grit, determination and wanting that medal more than anything in the world and the ripple effect it could have on the rest of the British team is massive.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/sport/athletics/39160075