PEEBLESSHIRE athlete Chris O’Hare admits he is far from bronzed off with his third place finish at the European Championships in Zurich - but he won’t rest until he reaches the top of the podium.

The 23-year-old from West Linton finished strongly in the 1500 metres final for his medal.

During an incident-packed final, which saw several athletes fall and stumble, the former British champion had to weave his way through the field in the final 200 metres. But an electrifying burst down the home straight earned him a well-deserved third behind the winner, Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad of France, and Norway’s Henrik Ingebrigtsen.

After arriving back in Scotland, Chris told the Peeblesshire News: “I would have loved to have finished higher but bronze will do for now.

“I don’t want to seem spoilt with saying I am disappointed with a bronze medal but that is the attitude that got me to this level in the first place, so I will keep striving for gold until I get there.” It was the first major medal of his career for O’Hare as Team GB enjoyed a best ever European Championship.

But, despite being a 50/1 outsider before his impressive heat win, many pundits believe he could have finished even higher.

Chris admitted the stumbles and falls in the final upset his race plan.

He continued: “There was a big fall so I had to pick my heels up so I didn’t get caught up in it and then I was at the front.

“I just had to take it out and I got trapped when Mekhissi took the front and he pushed it hard. I thought ‘nobody is catching him’.

“I tried to get on to the inside of the Spaniard but he closed the door on me. He was tying up pretty bad so I had to jump back outside. It was a mess.

“I think I maybe could have challenged Mekhissi in the last 100 metres if I had been closer but he has run on a lot of emotions and it showed and he ran a really good race, so congratulations to him.” The European bronze medal comes just two weeks after Chris got engaged to his American girlfriend Meredith Burns and also finished sixth in the final of the Commonwealth Games 1500 metres.

Chris added: “Zurich was a great experience - the team atmosphere was superb and right from the first day when Jo Pavey won her medal, I couldn’t wait to get on the track and add another distance medal to the list.

“Bringing home a medal was a fantastic end to a great two weeks.”