Sharp, Wightman and O'Hare into European Championship finals

Jake Wightman won a scrap for the line in his race

The Capital star, 28, held her nerve under pressure in a tactical semi-final to progress in second place in a time of 2:02.73. But it secured the chance of repeating her 2012 title win with British team-mates Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Adelle Tracey also making it through.

“It’s funny the semis were slower than the heats but I thought that might be the case,” Sharp said. “It’s just nice to get that one out of the way and look forward to the final. I thought my heat was pretty stacked in terms of personal bests, but it was done off season’s bests and it was probably a similar field today for the semi.

“The final will be a totally different race, I’m really looking forward to it – that’s the hard part done. Now its just one race, I have to get out and see what happens.”

Her Edinburgh AC club-mates Chris O’Hare and Jake Wightman will also be fighting for glory tomorrow in the 1500m final after taking top spot in yesterday’s semis. Wightman won a scrap for the line in his race but O’Hare sprinted clear on the last lap to win his heat in 3:49.06.

“I knew that’s what it would come down to eventually and I was making sure I had enough space to run and not get tripped up and spiked and what not,” he said. “I am happy with that.”

With Charlie Da’Vall Grice also through, the target will be an all-British podium. And Wightman said: “The strength of the team, and what we are all running at the moment, is as good as it has been in any previous year so getting all of us through to the final was the first job.”

Lasswade’s Guy Learmonth starts his 800m heats today while Allan Smith goes in high jump qualifying with the Capital hope trusting in his training set-up in Pitreavie and Grangemouth that’s a virtual solo act.

“It comes down to how much you want to compete,” the 25-year-old said. “Whether you’re by yourself or in a pack, you need to put in the same work. Obviously sometimes, when you’re in training early in the morning, it makes a difference having people around to chat to.  That doesn’t happen much for me. But you have to get on with it.”