Nadia Battocletti added European 10,000m gold to her 5000m title from earlier in the week, unleashing a devastating final 200m to add to the distance double she first won on home soil in Rome two years ago, while Britain's Megan Keith led for long spells before fading to eighth.

On a warm, blustery Friday night at the Alexander Stadium, Nadia Battocletti once again demonstrated why she is the queen of European distance running right now. On Tuesday she successfully defended her 5000m title in style and three days later she completed a ‘double double’ by once again winning the European 10,000m crown.

The 26-year-old captured the distance double on home soil in Rome two years ago but she has looked just at home in Birmingham. In both races she has relied on her kick and it has proved far too strong for her rivals.

In the 10,000m her winning time was a modest 31:41.17 – a long way short of Paula Radcliffe’s 30:01.09 championship record from 2002 – but her final 200m was a swift 28.17 as she immediately created daylight between herself and runner-up Maureen Koster of the Netherlands and Jana van Lent of Belgium when she made her move.

Such was Battocletti’s dominance in the final half lap, Koster finished more than four seconds behind with Van Lent a further two seconds back.

Koster had placed sixth in the 5000m a few days earlier after having led for much of the latter stages of that race, whereas Van Lent’s resume includes a European record of 10km on the roads from last year.

It was not a vintage evening for the Brits, though. Megan Keith had periods at the front, including a surge with seven laps to go which only Battocletti and Van Lent could initially go with, but she wound up eighth in 32:04.81 after a busy few weeks that have included the Commonwealth Games, where she won 5000m bronze in Glasgow.

Keith reflected: “I feel disappointed with how my legs were in the last kilometre but I am proud of myself for giving it a good shot at a medal. So yeah, I have mixed emotions.”

“If you decide to go to the front you have to lock in on a metronomic pace and try your best to zone in on each lap. I tried tonight and have definitely learned things for the future.

“It was quite warm tonight, especially for a Scottish woman. I was really happy with my preparations. I raced the Commonwealth Games a fortnight ago so I knew I had fitness coming here. But I just need to go back and have a look at how to put together a complete race.”

Izzy Fry was 16th in 32:37.22 after falling about two thirds of the way into the race, whereas Poppy Tank ran alone on the final lap in last place, to the cheers of the crowd, before coming home in 34:03.99. Both will no doubt return stronger from this experience.

Women's 10,000m: 1 Nadia Battocletti (ITA) 31:41.17; 2 Maureen Koster (NED) 31:45.76; 3 Jana van Lent (BEL) 31:47.81; 4 Idaira Prieto (ESP) 31:59.84; 5 Elisa Palmero (ITA) 32:00.06; 6 Federica del Buono (ITA) 32:01.42; 7 Maruša Mišmaš Zrimšek (SLO) 32:02.57; 8 Megan Keith (GBR) 32:04.81; … 16 Izzy Fry (GBR) 32:37.22; … 23 Poppy Tank (GBR) 34:03.99