European Indoor Championships, Madrid, ESP, Day 1

Phillips fails to make the final

The opening day brought the normal trials and tribulations - and among them the sight of Phillips Idowu - again missing out on a Championship triple jump final. After Phillips headed the world with 17.30m and was tipped as a likely winner by Jonathon Edwards, it was so disappointing to see him only reaching out to 16.44m. Goodness alone knows how he must have felt.

Darren Chin was close to his best in his 60m heat and had cracking start in the semi-final where he led the field and surely would have smashed his best and made the final ... if he hadn't cramped up and gone from first to last in the second half of the race. Frustration and pain were etched on Darren's face as he leaped in the air and went down on the track clutching his hamstring.

Running for Ireland, David Gillick set an astonishing personal best in the first heat of the 400m. His 46.17 was the second fastest run by a European this winter and he ended up half a second faster than any other man in the opening round.

Francine Passe-Coutrin improved her best for the season in the Pentathlon where she placed 12th, for France, but Neil Speaight looked completely out of sorts in his 1500m heat, recording a time ten seconds slower than his run in the Norwich Union GP.

Men. 60m: 8s2 D Chin 7.11 (2h1 6.66). 400m: 1h1 D Gillick 46.17. 1500m: 12h1 N Speaight 3:52.53. TJ: 11Q P Idowu 16.44.

Women. Pentathlon: 12 F Passe-Coutrin 4119 (60mH: 3h2 8.73, HJ: 3GrpA 1.75, SP: 12 11.29, LJ: 5GrpA 5.82, 800m: 5h1 2:19.73).

Restored from the club's earlier website, belgraveharriers.com, and published here as originally written.