BARCELONA 2010: Rimmer pipped to gold; Ennis on brink of gold

By Nick Clowes, Sportsbeat, in Barcelona

 MICHAEL Rimmer was forced to settle for silver at the European Championships as the 800m runner lost out in a sprint finish in Barcelona.

EDGED OUT: Michael Rimmer, right, just misses out on gold at the European Championships (Getty Images)

The Brit has been impressive in qualifying and was tipped to claim a major 800m title for Britain to end years of barren landscape, since the likes of Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram.

Rimmer got his tactics spot on but Poland's Marcin Lewandowski turned on the afterburners down the home straight and pipped the Liverpool athlete to gold.

It was also going to be a duel between these two, the fastest two in Europe this year, and while Rimmer, who crossed the line in 1:47.17 minutes - 0.1 behind the winner - clinched the first major medal of his career, he struggled to hide his disappointment.

"I'm quite disappointed," he admitted. "He put me under quite a lot of pressure and caught me by surprise a bit coming into the home straight.

"Maybe I tightened up a bit but I was hoping for better than that to be honest.

"The race panned out exactly how I wanted it to but maybe he was just a bit stronger than me on the day."

Meanwhile, Jessica Ennis will take the narrowest of leads into the final event of the heptathlon after throwing a lifetime best in the javelin with just the 800m remaining.

The world indoor and outdoor champion finished the long jump with a 68-point lead over Olympic champion and arch rival Nataliya Dobrynska.

Ennis leapt to a solid 6.43m but was outdone by the Ukrainian, who reached 6.56m, and while the 24-year-old Brit launched a new javelin PB of 46.71m, Dobrynska bit back with 49.25m.

That gives Ennis a slender lead of just 18 points which equates to 1.2 seconds but she will take heart from the fact that on paper she is the stronger 800m runner.