POOLE Athletic Club’s Melissa Courtney ran a Welsh national record to finish fifth in the European Championship 5,000m final.

Stepping up from 1,500m after her bronze medal triumph at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Courtney was attempting the longer distance for just the eighth time when she toed the line in Berlin’s historic Olympic Stadium.

After a slow start, Eilish McColgan injected a strong pace and Courtney tracked pre-race favourite Sifan Hassan through the pack.

She was unable to cover the gap alongside the Dutch-Ethiopian when the front five quickened but chased down 10,000m silver medallist Susan Krummins.

Hassan powered away to a championship-best performance, while McColgan gained silver for Team GB after the Israeli-Kenyan, Lonai Chemchai Salpeter, bizarrely miscounted and sprinted for the line one lap too early.

Courtney almost closed down home favourite Konstanze Klosterhalfen before crossing the line in sixth.

However, with the hapless Salpeter disqualified for a break line infringement near the start, Courtney was promoted to fifth.

Her time of 15:04.75 was a personal best by almost 12 seconds and eclipsed the 15:13.22 set by Angela Tooby in 1987 as the Welsh national record.

Courtney is set to complete her track season in the 3,000m at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting and heads to New York in September for the prestigious Fifth Avenue Mile.

European Championship women’s 5000m: 1 Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) 14:46.12 (CBP), 2 Eilish McColgan (Team GB) 14:53.05, 3 Yasemin Can (Turkey) 14:47.63, 4 Konstanze Klosterhalfen (Germany) 15:03.73, 5 Melissa Courtney (Team GB) 15:04.75, 6 Susan Krumins (Netherlands) 15:09.65, 10 Steph Twell (Team GB) 15:41.10.