LAWRENCE Clarke was delighted with his third place in the 110m hurdles at the European Team Championship in Cheboksary, Russia, writes STUART WEIR.

The Oxfordshire athlete, who hails from Christmas Common near Watlington, produced a fine run to finish behind winner Sergey Shubenkov, from Russia, and France’s Pascal Martinot-Lagarde in 13.64 seconds.

The performance was all the more impressive considering Clarke was unable to train last week after picking up a bug in Morocco at his last race.

“On paper I was ranked fifth or sixth, so I am very pleased to be third and get the points for Britain,” he said.

“I was third behind the world No 1 and the two-time European Champion.

“It’s a shame it was such a windy day. I ran 13.64 into a -2.6 wind, so I was pleased to hurdle in these conditions and to run close to what has been my season’s average time, which have often been run with tail-winds.”

While a number of Britain’s top athletes opted out of selection for the event, Clarke was keen to be there.

“I have spent my entire career wanting to come here,” he said.

“Finally the selectors had no choice as there were no other hurdlers available!

“The atmosphere is brilliant and it is only one athlete per event, so everyone is out to watch.”

Clarke’s next race will be the UK Championships on the first weekend of July.

Great Britain finished fifth overall, with Russia winning the 12-team event, with Germany second and France third.