As ever there was a mixture of the highs and lows at the European Indoor Championships in Prague last weekend for Team GB, but they will have returned home essentially pleased with 9 medals in total and a solid third place on the overall medals table, behind the Russian and French national teams. Two golds, 4 silvers and 3 bronzes represented a good few days' work for British Athletics' boss Neil Black and the athletes who sported the national colours so admirably. It might have been even more, but the same could no doubt be said for the rest of the European nations participating, with the main priorities being the Beijing World Championships this summer and the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Team GB soon got over the disappointment of not having Olympic champion long jumper Greg Rutherford on the plane to the Czech Republic, as Katarina Johnson-Thompson (aka 'KJ' or 'Kat') took Jessica Ennis-Hill's British record for the pentathlon and fell agonisingly short of the world record to take gold. She probably still needs some work on her shot putt and more competition to drive her on over the 800m, but the summer heptathlon challenges look to be well within her compass. Behind her, Morgan Lake ably demonstrated the current succession planning that Britain have in the event, as her young 'understudy' broke KJ's own junior record for the five event discipline. Remember that KJ was similarly in Ennis-Hill's shadow during the London Olympics and she hasn't turned out too badly.
Britain's other gold came in the men's 60m sprint, where Richard Kilty blitzed the other finalists. Indeed his closest challenger would probably have been compatriot CJ Ujah, but for his rival falling foul of the 'one false start and you're out' ruling. Harsh maybe, but one hopes he learns for the summer races over 100m, where he went sub- 10 seconds last year.
Two of the pleasing successes for GB came in the women's short sprint races. Dina Asher-Smith took a flying silver in the 60m flat, to become the fastest teenager ever at the distance, and equal Jeanette Kwakye's national record of 7.08 seconds. Lucy Hatton matched her achievement to place second in the 60m hurdles, with teammate Serita Solomon snatching the bronze for good measure.
Sussex born Lee Emanuel picked up another silver for the Brits in the men's 3000m, digging deep to show that his recent indoor 3:35 1500m clocking was no fluke and that his current form is impressive. He might have even taken the gold, but for the championship record of Ali Kaya in front of him.
There was another silver for Britain in the women's 4 x 400m relay, as Kelly Massey, Seren Bundy-Davies, Laura Maddox and Kirsten McAslan just lost out to the French team. Bundy-Davies packed that medal away with the bronze she took in the individual 400m.
The team's remaining bronze was captured by the spiked Chris O'Hare in the men's 1500m, defying a gashed ankle in the first few strides to just hold on in a tight finish.
