Alan Pascoe of Britain staged a remarkable come-back in the European Athletics Championships in the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy when he set a new Championship record in the men's 400 metres hurdles on Wednesday (4 September) with a time of 48.8 seconds. Only last month he sustained a hamstring injury, and a few days ago said he had little hopes of getting below 50 seconds.

In other events on Wednesday, J. Toerring of Denmark took first in the high jump with seven feet four and a half inches, ahead of K. Shapka of the Soviet Union at the same height, and Luciano Susanj of Yugoslavia set a new Championship record in the man's 800 metres with a magnificent final sprint to bring him home in one minute 44.07 seconds.

SYNOPSIS: In the European Athletics Championships in Rome, Italy, Britain's Alan Pascoe staged a magnificent recovery from a hamstring injury last month to set a new Championships time in the men's four hundred metres hurdles on Wednesday. Pascoe, who said a few days before the event that he doubted he could do less than fifty seconds, sprinted home ahead of the field to set the record at forty-eight-point-eight seconds -- fractionally ahead of French titleholder Jeane-Claude Nallet. Gavrilenko of the Soviet Union was third.

In the high jump K. Shapka of the Soviet Union eventually managed seven feet four and a half inches -- but it only got him second place.

J. Toerring of Denmark managed the same height in fewer attempts -- and took first place with it.

The start of the men's eight hundred metres ... and the runners in contention were Luciano Susanj of Yugoslavia and Steven Ovett of Britain, and world record-holder Marcello Fiasconaro of Italy.

Eighteen-year-old Ovett, last year's junior European champion, tried valiantly and eventually took the silver medal in one minute forty-five point-eight seconds ahead of bronze medallist M. Taskinen of Finland. But he was not a match for the Yugoslav. Susanj put on a magnificent final sprint and set a new Championship record of one minute forty-four-point-zero-seven.