Britain’s Ben Pattison claimed a shock 800m bronze medal with a sensational run on his World Championships debut.

The 21-year-old looked in disbelief after crossing the line in one minute 44.83 seconds to make the podium.

Pattison held his hands on his head as he walked around the track with a GB flag on his shoulders after seeing confirmation of his unexpected medal.

Canada’s Marco Arop took gold in 1:44.24 ahead of Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi (1:44.53) in Budapest.

Pattison is the first British man to win a world 800m medal since Peter Elliott in Rome in 1987.

That is despite him being one of just two athletes in the eight-man final not to have run under 44 seconds over the distance.

But, with a trademark quick finish, Pattison found space on the inside and held on to earn a memorable first global medal.

It earned Great Britain a sixth medal of the championships – with Keely Hodgkinson set to challenge for gold in the women’s final on Sunday.

Pattison, who went on to finish sixth at last year’s European Championships, ran a personal best 1:44.02 at the London Diamond League in July to make the world standard.

That personal best saw him enter the 2023 championships as the 13th fastest in the world – and the third among British athletes.

And while it appeared clear that he had crossed the line in third, Pattison waited for absolute confirmation to appear on the scoreboard before collecting a British flag and running away with a beaming smile on his face.

More to follow.



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