Britain's stand-ins produce amazing drama

The sun did not shine on the grandstand at Gateshead's international stadium on Sunday afternoon. While those on the far side sat in T-shirts, the inhabitants next to the presentation area huddled into their anoraks against a chill wind. The wind grew no less chill in the 37 minutes it took between the concluding event of the weekend's European Cup and the official announcement that Britain, against all odds, had regained the trophy they had won there 11 years earlier.

The sun did not shine on the grandstand at Gateshead's international stadium on Sunday afternoon. While those on the far side sat in T-shirts, the inhabitants next to the presentation area huddled into their anoraks against a chill wind. The wind grew no less chill in the 37 minutes it took between the concluding event of the weekend's European Cup and the official announcement that Britain, against all odds, had regained the trophy they had won there 11 years earlier.

During that frustrating interlude, as officials examined and eventually dismissed protests from the French and Russian teams following a triple disqualification in the 110 metres hurdles midway through the programme, neither the supporters, nor the athletes knew quite what to do with themselves. But Dave Moorcroft, the chief executive of UK Athletics, insisted that however the results turned out it had been an outstanding weekend for a British team which had seen 16 of its best athleticoptions go west in the space of the proceeding fortnight.

"This has been a fantastic weekend whatever happens," Moorcroft said. "All the athletes deserve enormous credit for lifting themselves into this position despite such difficult circumstances."

As the celebrations generated by the announcement spread throughout the stadium, there was, briefly, a similar emotion generated to those evoked by England's Euro 2000 victory over Germany. There had been suggestions that the result of the concluding 400m relay might have been altered as a result of team protests and, had that narrowed the gap between the second team home, Britain, and Germany, who were second to last, then it would have been the Germans rather than the hosts who triumphed by half a point. But this was one penalty shoot-out which did not go the German way.

In the absence of so many established names, a number of other athletes massively improved their stock over the course of the two-day competition. Darren Campbell, whose confidence has fallen away since he took the European 100m title in 1998, served notice that he is capable of re-establishing himself at the forefront of British sprinting.

That position has been occupied in the last year by his team-mates Dwain Chambers and Jason Gardener, but Campbell's assured victory after coming in for the latter at half an hour's notice offered evidence that his winter training in Australia has equipped him for a serious Olympic challenge this season.

Helen Pattinson's unexpected victory in the opening track event of the second day, the 1500m, was even more unexpected. The sight of a British woman middle-distance runner overtaking a Russian on the outside, 200m from home, and holding on to cross the line first has been rare indeed in recent years.

"It is fair to say that this is a reappearance of an endangered species," Pattinson said with a smile. "The British girls have gone out there and been gutsy this weekend."

Such were the women's efforts that they staved off the relegation which had loomed as a possibility overnight, although they had to finish ahead of Ukraine in the concluding 400m relay to do so. That they succeeded was due in no small part to Allison Curbishley, making her first international appearance after two years out with knee injuries, and Donna Fraser, who had taken second place as a late stand-in for the team captain Katharine Merry in Saturday's 400m.

But the performance of the women's lead runner Natasha Danvers, the European Under-23 champion at 400m hurdles probably said most about the general team commitment. After running to the point of collapse before handing over the baton, she was still being supported, rubber-legged and with glazed expression, almost an hour later.