Teenage talent runs championship best of 10.29 at the European U18 Champs on Friday, with GB team-mate Celine Obinna-Alo adding bronze behind a world-leading run from Italy's Kelly Doualla in the women's race.

Divine Iheme struck gold in the men's 100m on a big Friday night at the Stadio Raul Guidobaldi, leading the final from the gun to win in a personal best and championship best performance of 10.29 (0.1).

The Radley AC sprinter, who is coached by his mother Nkiruka Iheme, was fastest away and extended through the drive phase, crossing the line clear of the field to confirm what his morning and semi-final performances had suggested — that he was the man to beat in Rieti.

Spain's Francisco de Las Heras took silver in 10.36 with Austria's Marco Glinz completing the podium in 10.45, but neither was ever in a position to trouble the British teenager.

Remarkably, for a nation with such pedigree in the sprints, it is the first time Britain has won the men's 100m title in the five-edition history of the European U18 Championships.

"This gold medal, and the championship record, that is what I was looking for," said Iheme. "I would say it is just about the consistency, working hard, make sure that I attend every session, and I just do my regular massages, ice baths, cold baths, just everything good for myself. It is very hard to balance the sport and the school.

"I had to go to bed late at night, revise after training. But I would say I am much better on track than I am in my academics for sure. But I can still balance it pretty well. Obviously, everyone in my school was watching and they are going crazy right now.

"By the grace of god, I see myself in the Olympics hopefully. But we will see, the one in two years, I will be 18. But we will see what god has done for me. I also want to be breaking more and more records, getting more medals and everything around it. In Rieti, I gained more confidence speaking to other countries and to other people."

The women's final that followed produced arguably the performance of the championships so far. Home favourite Kelly Doualla, roared on by the crowd inside the Guidobaldi, blitzed her way to gold in 11.14 — shattering her own European under-18 best, setting a championship record and producing the fastest time by an under-18 sprinter anywhere in the world this year.

It left the rest of the field, Britain included, chasing shadows, with Greece's Apostolia Antonatou taking silver in a national under-18 record of 11.46. But there was still cause for real celebration in the British camp, as Celine Obinna-Alo, the Gateshead Harriers athlete coached by Richard Kilty, held on for bronze in 11.50 — the third fastest time of her career and the third time she had lowered her own best inside the space of two rounds in Rieti.

The night's business did not stop on the track. In the women's shot put, Emilia Adele produced a fine series to finish fourth with 16.85m, having been on the podium as late as the fourth round before being squeezed out in the closing throws.

There was also British success in the heptathlon, where Dionne Maguinness brought her two-day competition to a close in sixth with 5621 points — adding 83 points to her own Scottish record in the process. Team-mate Leanna Elliot was not far behind in 10th with 5379 points, a competition that included personal bests in the high jump, 200m and 800m along the way.

Alisa Launonen, 16 from Finland, won with 6154 as she held off the challenge of Germany’s Svea Funck.

Sophie Robertson added yet another strong showing in the field, taking fifth in a fiercely contested hammer final. The Glasgow Jaguars athlete, who qualified for the final with a PB on Thursday, kept improving throughout the competition, setting a hat-trick of Scottish records along the way — 64.51m, 64.99m and 65.25m.

Milaniia Kokhan of Ukraine won the competition in dramatic style with a 70.19m final round throw to clinch gold.