Neil Gourley struck silver as Great Britain opened their medal account on the second day of the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul.
Gourley finished a close second to Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1500 metres, while sprinter Daryll Neita and middle-distance runner Melissa Courtney-Bryant both collected bronzes.
Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen held off the Scot in the home straight to win in a new championship record of three minutes 33.95 seconds.
Gourley, who clocked 3mins 34.23secs, told BBC Sport: “He’s one of the best ever to do this so it was always going to be really hard to come up against someone like that.
“I believed I could do it. I put myself in the right places and just didn’t quite have it. I got beaten by someone who is better and I’ve got to take it on the chin.”
George Mills finished 11th after falling in the opening stages of the race and getting back to his feet.
Neita was among the favourites to win women’s 60m gold, but Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji triumphed in a new championship record of 7.00s.
Poland’s Ewa Swodboda took silver in 7.09, with Neita three hundredths of a second slower in third.
“It’s always amazing to bring a medal home, but I’m not particularly happy with this result,” said Neita.
“I just feel I would have liked more from myself, but it’s a bronze medal and I’ve got to be grateful.”
Courtney-Bryant had earlier claimed Britain’s first medal with bronze in the women’s 3,000m.
“I got myself in bit of a rubbish position at the start, but I said stay patient and be calm and just work my way up,” said Courtney-Bryant.
“I know I’m in really good shape and I just had to push on.”
Courtney-Bryant finished behind German pair Hanna Klein and Konstanze Klosterhalfen in 8:41.19. Hannah Nuttall was fifth with a personal best of 8:46.30.
Holly Mills was sixth as Belgium’s Nafi Thiam set a new pentathlon world record of 5,500 points.
Laura Muir, chasing a fifth European Indoor career gold, won her heat to reach the women’s 1500m final on Sunday where she will joined by Ellie Baker and Katie Snowden.
