Italian successfully defends her European title in style after a summer of uncertainty.

Two years after winning a European 5000m and 10,000m double in front of home fans in Rome, Nadia Battocletti succeeded in the first step of another double on Tuesday (Aug 11) in Birmingham when she won the 5000m gold with a blistering sprint finish.

Similar to Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the men’s 5000m the previous day, Battocletti’s true fitness was a little unknown. After winning world indoor 3000m gold in Toruń in February, she has not shown the same shape this summer. In June she finished an underpar 13th in the Diamond League in Rome and then withdrew from the Diamond League in Monaco due to fatigue caused by anaemia.

Yet the 26-year-old is a class act, as she won Olympic 10,000m silver in Paris and then world 10,000m silver and 5000m bronze in Tokyo last year.

When it comes to the clock, she holds Italian records at 5000m (14:23.15) and 10,000m (30:38.23).

The race in Birmingham ended up being a slow, cagey affair, too, with Battocletti winning in a modest 15:37.84.

At times runners were out in lanes four and five as they jostled for position but Maureen Koster of the Netherlands began to string everyone out in the latter stages, although her front-running didn’t pay off as she faded to sixth.

Down the back straight on the final lap Koster led from Britain’s Hannah Nuttall but just before the 200m mark Battocletti sped past and made her big move.

Surging away from her rivals immediately, she covered the final lap in 59.2 and last 200m in 28.2 to win comfortably as Marta Garcia of Spain was the only runner who could even come close to matching the Italian’s speed as she finished runner-up in 15:39.98.

Micol Majori of Italy timed her finish well to finish third in 15:40.65, giving the Italians two medals and Majori joined Battocletti on a lap of honour post race.

Sarah Healy of Ireland had been placed nicely in the closing stages, largely hugging the kerb, but with 200m to go she became badly boxed at the worst time and despite rallying in the home straight she finished fourth in 15:40.95.

Nuttall was fifth in 15:41.27, later admitting that running wide at certain times wasn’t with hindsight the best strategy. “I made too many moves,” she said. "It didn’t work out for me today but I wanted to give myself a chance.”

GB team-mate India Weir was 16th in 15:55.42 with Innes FitzGerald 19th in 16:00.07. The stop-start nature of the race maybe didn’t suit FitzGerald but she was thankful for the experience and promised to come back stronger. She has, after all, only just turned 20.

Women's 5000m: 1 Nadia Battocletti (ITA) 15:37.84; 2 Marta García (ESP) 15:39.98 SB; 3 Micol Majori (ITA) 15:40.65; 4 Sarah Healy (IRL) 15:40.95; 5 Hannah Nuttall (GBR) 15:41.27; 6 Maureen Koster (NED) 15:41.51; 7 Amina Maatoug (NED) 15:44.03; 8 Maria Forero (ESP) 15:44.25; … 16 India Weir (GBR) 15:55.42;… 19 Innes FitzGerald (GBR) 16:00.07