Tyrone athlete Nick Griggs finished eighth in the men's 5,000 metres at the European Athletics Championships despite losing a shoe during the closing stages of the final in Birmingham. The 21-year-old recorded 13 minutes 21.07 seconds after completing the final three laps with one shoe.
Griggs had remained with the main group as the pace increased before the incident disrupted several Irish runners. He recovered sufficiently to hold a top-eight position and finished ahead of his Ireland team-mates Brian Fay and Darragh McElhinney.
Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the title in a season's best 13:15.29 after moving clear late in the race. Germany's Florian Bremm took silver and France's Etienne Daguinos completed the podium. Fay placed 14th in 13:31.15, while McElhinney was 18th in 13:37.62.
The result continues Griggs' progression at senior championship level. The Candour Track Club runner, who is from Newmills in County Tyrone, has previously won European under-20 gold over 3,000m and has established himself among Ireland's leading distance athletes.
Elsewhere for Ireland on the opening day, Mark English won his heat to reach the men's 800m semi-finals in 1:46.96. Cian McPhillips did not progress from his heat, while Eric Favors finished 10th in the men's shot put with a best throw of 19.59m.
Jack Rafferty advanced from the opening round of the men's 400m and Nicola Tuthill qualified for the women's hammer final with a throw of 70.09m. The championships continue at Alexander Stadium until Sunday, with the next rounds spread across the morning and evening sessions.