Courtney-Bryant holds on to claim silver after Koster's shocking fall

Briton survives 'carnage' in 3,000m, while women's relay and Mills also win medals

- Sean Ingle

Melissa Courtney-Bryant held her nerve and her footing amid one of the more disturbing scenes on an athletics track in recent memory to win a gutsy 3,000m European Indoor Championships silver medal.

Early in the race, the Briton heard a scream and knew that the Dutch athlete Maureen Koster, her close friend, had crashed to the ground. What she didn't know was that Koster had also smashed her head and was unconscious.

As the athletes sped around the 200m track, officials rushed out to drag the unresponsive Koster off the track like a rag doll. No wonder the crowd went silent. And the mood was still subdued when the 32-year-old was eventually taken off the track on a stretcher.

"I heard Maureen scream," Courtney-Bryant said. "I know her really well because we used to train together and room on the Diamond League. Then I saw a leg as I was running around, and I knew it was her shoe. It put everyone on edge, and everyone was pushing more.

"I was just trying to keep up, because you don't want to end up down as well. It was carnage."

The accident looked to have come after Koster clipped the British athlete Hannah Nuttall from behind.