Swiss athlete Joseph powered to victory in the last event of Wednesday evening at the European Champs in Birmingham, but there was frustration for British hope Sam Bennett after a PB in the semi-finals.

Jason Joseph brought the curtain down on the night's action at Alexander Stadium in style, winning the men's 110m hurdles title with a season's best of 13.12 in the final event of the evening.

The Swiss record-holder ran a clean race, never troubled over the barriers and powering away from the field in the closing metres. He celebrated in style too, skipping his way around the bend in delight once the result was confirmed.

It was a result that flipped the pre-championships pecking order on its head. France's Just Kwaou-Mathey arrived in Birmingham topping the entry lists on 13.20 and looking for the major title that had eluded him through a career littered with bronze medals – at the Munich 2022 Europeans, the World Indoor Championships and twice at the European Indoors. He ran well enough for another medal, 13.16 for silver, but again found himself a step below the very top of the podium.

Bronze went to Poland's Jakub Szymański, the reigning world indoor and European indoor champion who had been searching all season for a way to translate that indoor brilliance to the outdoor track. A time of 13.26 – matching his season's best – finally delivered it, giving him a first major outdoor medal to go with his indoor collection.

There was drama further down the field, too, as France's Thomas Wilkes ran 13.36 for fourth ahead of Austria's Enzo Diessl, the 22-year-old who many had tipped as a medal contender after his rise through the European under-20 and under-23 ranks. Diessl could only manage 13.44 for fifth on this occasion, with Theo Pedre of France sixth in 13.46.

Britain's Sam Bennett had a whirlwind few hours but it ended in frustration. The Commonwealth Games silver medallist had produced the story of the semi-finals, clocking a personal best of 13.26 to move to equal No.8 on the British all-time list and share the honour of fastest qualifier for the final. He could not find the same form under the brighter lights, finishing seventh in 13.62, but was honest about how close he felt he had come to more.

"I was in the place I wanted to be but I was bashing up against the guy next to me," Bennett said. "Not many people believed in me, so just getting here is not what a lot of people might have expected. I thought I was good enough to win that final but it was not to be. Maybe another day. Hopefully I will get another chance to prove it again soon."

It capped a mixed night for the British hurdlers. Tade Ojora had gone out at the semi-final stage, finishing fifth in his heat in 13.48, meaning Bennett was left to fly the flag alone in the final – and did so having already exceeded most people's expectations just by getting there.

Cyprus's Milan Trajkovic, the most experienced man in the field at 34, completed the eight in 13.87.

Men's 110m hurdles: 1 Jason Joseph (SUI) 13.12; 2 Just Kwaou-Mathey (FRA) 13.16; 3 Jakub Szymański (POL) 13.26; 4 Thomas Wilkes (FRA) 13.36; 5 Enzo Diessl (AUT) 13.44; 6 Theo Pedre (FRA) 13.46; 7 Samuel Bennett (GBR) 13.62; 8 Milan Trajkovic (CYP) 13.87