Athletics: East's surprise 1500m triumph may signal new era

When the tickets for the final session of Commonwealth Games athletics action went on sale last autumn, Michael East was one of the first in the queue. He did not want to miss out on seeing the men's 1500 metres final.

He saw it all right last night, from what could be described as the best "seat" in the house. When the Portsmouth man reached the final 10 metres of the home straight on the track in the City of Manchester Stadium, he could see only the finish line ahead of him. A second or two later he had seen the race all the way from the winner's perspective.

East's advance from the fringe of the British middle-distance scene – under the guidance of Mark Rowland, the Olympic 3,000m steeplechase bronze medallist of 1988 – has been gathering momentum for five months now. In February he scraped into the British team for the European Indoor Championships and proceded to unveil a tactical racing astuteness not seen from a British middle-distance running for some time. It took the 24-year-old to the bronze medal in Vienna and to the gold in Manchester last night. In fourth place, when Anthony Whiteman kicked from the front with 200m remaining, East calmly gathered for an attack of his own. He moved to the outside as his England team-mate rounded the final bend with Kenya's William Chrichir and Youcef Abdi, of Australia, in close pursuit, then launched his effort as the four men came into the finishing straight. He hit the front with 10m remaining and crossed the line 0.35sec ahead of Chirchir in 3min 37.35sec, a personal best, having passed his three rivals in the final 20m. Whiteman crashed to the track in despair, having lost out on the bronze medal position to Chrichir by 0.07sec.

"It is a shock to me," East confessed as he stepped off the track. "I thought I might get bronze, to be honest. To get the gold is surreal." To receive the gold from Sir Roger Bannister must have been further disorientating for a young man who failed to make Britain's World Championships team a year ago. It was rather fitting, though.

East's victory was a momentous one for British men's middle-distance running, the first by a Briton in a major championship men's 1500m final since Peter Elliott claimed the same title in Auckland in 1990. It just so happened that Elliott was on hand to offer his congratulations.

It just so happened, too, that someone asked Elliott: "So how does it feel to finally be a has-been?"

"Fabulous," he replied. "Hopefully this is the start of a new era for British men's middle distance running. Instead of Coe, Cram, Ovett and Elliott, it can be Coe, Cram, Ovett, Elliott and East."