Amy-Eloise Markovc shoots herself to stardom to become a European indoor champion

Amy-Eloise Markovc emerged from obscurity to become a European indoor champion on Friday night after taking 3,000m gold in Poland.

The little-known 25-year-old was making her debut at championship level and ultimately ended up as the first athlete from the British team to take a medal in Torun.

She burst from the pack of a distinctly modest field on the closing lap and held off the challenges of France’s Alice Finot and British team-mate Verity Ockenden on the straight to win in a personal best of 8:46.43. 

Amy-Eloise Markovc emerged from obscurity to become a European indoor champion

The little-known 25-year-old took 3,000m gold in Poland on Friday night for the British team

It wouldn’t have made top four when Laura Muir won the title in Glasgow two years ago, which illustrates the underwhelming nature of this meet, but that will not matter in the slightest to Markovc, who moved to the US from Stockport as a child. Ockenden took bronze.

‘It feels amazing,’ said Markovc, who is married to a Slovenian international rower. ‘To have the flag draped round your shoulders is why you do this. Hopefully I will make the team for Tokyo.’

Piers Copeland finished fifth and Neil Gourley was 12th in the men’s 1500m final. Norwegian phenomenon Jakob Ingebrigtsen crossed first but was disqualified pending an appeal for a push on Poland’s Marcin Lewandowski, who was initially second. Earlier, Holly Mills was an impressive fifth in the pentathlon, which was won in an ominously strong manner by Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s great rival Nafi Thiam, who set a personal best of 4,904 points.

Meanwhile, Andrew Pozzi fears his Olympic dream is under threat from Brexit red tape as he fights to continue training in Italy.

The 28-year-old is expected to be a medal contender in Tokyo, but ahead of Saturday’s 60m hurdles first round at the European Indoors, he is also fighting the complex aftershocks of the UK’s exit from the EU.

Andrew Pozzi fears his Olympic dream is under threat from Brexit and could leave his camp

With Olympics less than five months away, Pozzi will be forced to take formal residency in Italy

Under the rules, he can only stay at his training base in Formia for 90 days in any 180-day period. With the Olympics less than five months away, Pozzi will be forced to take formal residency in Italy, or else leave the training group where he has revitalised his career.

Asked about the implications of Brexit, Pozzi said: ‘That’s a really good question. I plan to continue on in Italy. It is certainly going to be difficult. If any of you guys want to use your powers to help lobby for sports visas or anything like that then feel free.

‘Getting information about the best way to continue in Italy has been very difficult. It looks like I will take full-time residency in order to continue training there fully. The current rule is that you can only be in Europe 90 days out of every 180 – obviously for an athlete that is not sustainable and it is not the way to prepare, so we are working on that at the moment. It is tricky.’

Elsewhere, Sir Mo Farah, 37, won his first race in six months at the low-key Djibouti half-marathon on Friday. He completed the course in 63 minutes and seven seconds in hot and humid conditions, beating his training partner Bashir Abdi by four seconds.