By Owen Morgan
Jeremiah Azu “gave everything” as he launched Great Britain to 4x100m gold on a night of high drama as the European Athletics Championships came to a close in Munich on Sunday evening.
The Cardiff youngster admitted to feeling the pressure in front of a large and noisy home crowd cheering on the German team at the iconic Olympic Stadium.
But Azu, who has looked confident and at home throughout these championships, brushed any nerves aside to produce a brilliant run on the all important first leg.
The 21-year-old said afterwards: “I was feeling the pressure a bit, especially when they announced the German team, the crowd was loud and I knew then I had to perform, and to deliver.
“So, I ran with everything I’ve got to get us in a good position. I feel I got my job done, so I am happy. Thank you to the coaches for trusting me to get the job done, and I got the job done.”
“The Welsh will definitely be celebrating” 🏴 🏴
Cardiff runner and British Champion, @Jeremiah_Azu, 21, takes the BRONZE in the 100 metres at the European Championships in Munich.
This is HUGE – putting Cymru on the international stage at 21 years old. 👏
Watch this 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/K2HSaSYKtd
— Peter Gillibrand (@GillibrandPeter) August 16, 2022
The Welsh flyer exploded out of the blocks to run a blistering first leg putting the GB foursome into a strong early position.
Azu handed on to European 200m champion Zharnel Hughes with a slick exchange, while it was Germany who felt the pressure as they failed to exchange the baton.
Hughes gave the British team a slim lead at the second changeover. Jona Efoloko ran an excellent bend and provided Nehtaneel Mitchell-Blake with a metre lead going into the last hundred.
The Newham and Essex Beagle completed a faultless race to bring GB home in a new championship record of 37.36 – improving the 32-year-old previous best standard.
The gold rounded off a successful personal championships for Azu, who claimed bronze in the individual 100m.
The Helen James-coached athlete said after the 4×100 success: “I’m really proud to be part of this team, and I’m glad I could contribute in the final.
“Right on the track it’s fire. We’re at war!” @Jeremiah_Azu, @zharnel_hughes, @j_efoloko23 and @Nethaneel on breaking the 32-year-old Euro 4x100m championships record with 37.67 in Munich 🔥🥇🇬🇧
🎙 @euancrumley #Munich2022 pic.twitter.com/fqSAi7O6SQ
— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) August 21, 2022
“It’s been a great Champs for me and I’m pleased with how I’ve executed my races this week.”
Unfortunately, the GB women’s team couldn’t emulate the men’s success as they failed to get the baton round in the final event of the championships following a mix up between Asha Philip and Imani Lara-Lansiquot
Azu had words of consolation for the women’s team and a warning for GB’s rivals in future.
“The girls put in a lot of work,” said Azu. “We go to all the camps together and it’s hard to watch that but it’s track. Things are moving so fast and one mistake doesn’t define them.
“I’m sure next year they’ll come back better and we’re going to clean up and win everything.”
The men’s 4x100m gold medal was GB’s sixth athletics gold medal of the European Championships and the 20th overall.