British indoor record-holder lands fourth title, while Adam Gemili and Zak Seddon also confirm Olympic selection

It was probably the greatest two-lap race in history and unusually lived up to its top billing as Britain’s accomplished two- lap runners battled for those all important Olympic spots.

Joshua Lay made it an honest race by leading through 400m in a swift 51.52 before Elliot Giles, the UK indoor record- holder who ran 1:43.63 earlier this year, took over the lead. The usually smart racer was ahead at 600m in 78.28 but defending champion Daniel Rowden and temporary world leader at 1:43.82 and European junior champion Oliver Dustin were poised to pounce as European indoor medallist Jamie Webb began to lose touch.

The three contenders were abreast along the stright but Giles, on the inside, just held on to win in 1:45.11 from Dustin’s 1:45.12 which guaranteed that both will be in Tokyo. Rowden was only inches back and his 1:45.14 has surely done enough to get the nod for the selectors’ third spot.

Ben Pattison finished fast to take fourth in a PB 1:45.93 with Webb fifth in 1:46.31.

Giles, who won his fourth title, said: “It was such a tactical affair out there. I didn’t want to take any chance in that race. I ran it as I wanted to, enjoy it and do what I had to do. Racing is tactical at this stage so I waited for the last 100m and put down the metal then and I had to dip at the line.  I knew I had put in a surge and did it at 200m which I hadn’t wanted to do so I had to use that twice to get there.

“I was anxious coming into the race as I have come back from a quad injury so I knew I wasn’t the fittest coming into the race and I needed this to be tactical so I could win. In three to four weeks I will be really ready to race and I am very confident that I can deliver but this doesn’t replicate the Olympics so this was too slow. “

Adam Gemili, fourth in Rio, can look forward to his third Olympics after the 2016 and 2019 champion won by over a metre in 20.63 from 2017 world fourth-placer Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, also with two previous title to his name, who ran 20.77.

Close behind, the former world junior champion Jona Efoloko (20.79) took the bronze ahead of former world indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty’s 20.88.

Defending champion Andrew Morgan-Harrison pulled up injured about 40 metres from the finish and left the track in a wheelchair.

An initially confused Gemili said: “It was about getting selection and getting on the plane to Rio, no Tokyo!”

He added: “It was cool. It was a funny old race where I came off the bend and the wind hit me and it was like ‘oh my god’. It wasn’t spectacularly quick given the times around the world but here was about making the team ahead of Tokyo.

“I know what I can do. I want to race more. I was planning to do both the 100m and 200m but my coach told me just to focus on the 200m

“I can’t believe Rio was five years ago and I just cannot wait for the challenge of Tokyo. I train with some of the best sprinters in the world so I know when I’m flying and rolling. That gives me great confidence.”

In the semis there were wins for Kilty (20.82) and Gemili (20.91).

The 3000m steeplechase saw a brave run by Mark Pearce who, with a 8:25.43 PB a few weeks earlier, was chasing the Olympic standard of 8:22.00.

He was bang on target at 1000m in 2:46.66 but had the two athletes wo had the qualifying Zak Seddon and Phil Norman tucked in behind knowing a top two spot would mean Olympic selection. At 2000m in 5:35.96 it still looked possible and gradually Norman began to lose contact.

Doha finalist Seddon kicked past down the backstraight and went a few metres clear as it appeared Pearce was paying for his brave pacemaking. However, in the straight the Shaftesbury Barnet athlete responded and eased past to win in a PB 8:24.83 and stadium record, while Seddon’s second in a season’s best of 8:25.08 was enough for selection.

Norman was third in 8:31.87 and will have to wait to see if the selectors confirm his top-ranked 8:20.12 in Ostrava is enough to get the nod.

Pearce is likely to get a World Athletics invitation but there is no guarantee British Athletics will approve it.

He said: “It is bittersweet to be British Champion and with a PB but a couple of seconds short of the standard I was going for. I went out to attack it so I am really pleased. I wanted to leave it all on the track.  I have run PBs in every race this year so it’s a huge confidence boost. I can’t be too bitter. My aim is to keep developing and continue to build and reach the Champs in the future years, especially the Commonwealths in my home city. ”

Alastair Chalmers retained his 400m hurdles title with a strong finish to win in 49.98 from last year’s 400m champion Alex Knibbs on 50.33, with 2019 champion Jacob Paul a distant third in 51.30.

Chris McAlister, who tops the UK rankings with 49.61 and is highly placed on the World Athletics rankings even though well short of the 48.90 Olympic qualifier, had a heavy fall on the final bend and finished seventh in 58.82 as fastest heat winner Efe Okoro did not start.

Olympic-bound in the 20km walk, Tom Bosworth won his seventh national title at the 10,000m walk and even though a time penalty brought his time down from sub-19 to 19:25.62 after kilometres of 3:49.70, 3:48.05, 3:50.08, and then the penalty affected 4:09.41.

Medway’s Cameron Corbishley (20:37.69) and Bosworth’s Tonbridge team-mate Guy Thomas (21:31.16) made it a Kentish clean sweep.