Berlin medal trail among the best for Great Britain

Great Britain’s performance at the European Championships in Berlin was one of their best in the history of the competition.

The team finished with 18 medals – seven golds, five silvers and six bronzes – and topped the medal table for only the fourth time in 24 championships dating back to 1934.

Using the number of golds as the chief determining factor, the other occasions when Britain finished at the summit were 1950 in Brussels, 1998 in Budapest and 2014 in Zurich.

The latter was Britain’s most successful showing in the event as they claimed 23 medals in total in Austria, including a best-ever 12 golds.

A 5,000 and 10,000 metres track double for Sir Mo Farah and sprint golds for Jason Dasaolu and Adam Gemili in the 100m and 200m respectively were among the highlights.

There were also sprint relay successes for men and women, Jo Pavey won a 10,000m gold and Greg Rutherford reprised his 2012 Olympic long jump triumph.

Great Britain also recorded five silvers and six bronzes in 2014.

Sir Mo Farah won two gold medals as Great Britain excelled at the 2014 European Championships in Zurich (Adam Davy/PA)

Britain’s tally in 1950 was 17 medals, the same as the Soviet Union, but their eight golds bettered their rivals by two. In 1998 the overall total was only 16, seven fewer than Germany, but their nine golds was a competition best.

The 1950 mark remained Britain’s best showing until Split in 1990, when the team took 18 medals including nine golds.

Another impressive return came in 2010 when the team picked up 20 medals in Barcelona. This overall tally is second only to the 23 of four years ago but, with just six of them being gold, it was only good enough for third in the medal table.

Farah also led the way in that team, again taking gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, while Jessica Ennis-Hill triumphed in the heptathlon. Phillips Idowu also won the triple jump, with Dai Greene taking the 400m hurdles title and Andy Turner crowned 110m hurdles champion.

The 2018 performance eclipses that of two years ago in Amsterdam, when the team claimed 16 medals including five golds. In a prelude to this year’s triple success, Dina Asher-Smith won the 200m while Rutherford was again among the golds.

The worst showing of recent times came in Helsinki in 2012 when just seven medals were secured, although four of them were still golds, enough for fifth in the medal table.

Farah won the 5,000m title once more, with further track wins for Rhys Williams (400m hurdles) and Lynsey Sharp (800m), while Robbie Grabarz won the high jump.