By Will Jennings in Munich

Alex Haydock-Wilson admits he had to resist the temptation to push for more Munich magic after safely booking his place in the European Championship 4x400m relay final.

The former Loughborough University student has enjoyed a memorable week on the German track after bagging a surprise bronze medal in Wednesday night’s 400m final.

Haydock-Wilson, 23, ran a remarkable race to finish behind British teammate – and former Loughborough College student – Matt Hudson-Smith and Swiss star Ricky Petrucciani in front of a bumper Olympic Stadium crowd.

The sprint star joined forces with Joe Brier, Rio Mitcham, and Lewis Davey in the 4x400m relay heats under 48 hours earlier, where they finished third behind Czech Republic and France to advance to Saturday night’s final.

All top three teams qualified for the medal showdown but Haydock-Wilson says reining in the urge to replicate his red-hot individual run was a difficult decision to deploy.

He said: “I was fighting the temptation all the way around to do something drastic.

 

“I had to respect where my mind and body were after winning a medal the other night and pouring my heart out.

“It's not about making the heat look sexy, you just have to qualify for the final.”

The in-form quartet stopped the clock in 3:02.36 to grab a season’s best time and finish 0.29s behind the Czechs.

And that helped continue Haydock-Wilson’s stunning breakthrough year as he now hunts for more medals in the relay format.

He finished fifth at the British National Championships before a fourth-place finish in his World Championships semi-final heat narrowly denied him a shot at a podium in Oregon.

But he bounced back in style in Europe to storm into the final and then deliver that wonderful Wednesday display.

Haydock-Wilson, who competes in the 4x400m final at 8:15pm this evening, said: “I feel like I've been running with the team all week.

“They've all been so supportive while I was doing my individual, so seeing them on the track and getting a chance to shine themselves is a beautiful thing.”

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the German city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website