Rhys Williams claimed a bronze medal in the European Championships 400 metres hurdles.

Williams, who has in the past has won European youth, junior and under-23 gold, looked to have blown his chances when coming into the home straight in fifth position.

But the son of Welsh rugby legend JJ Williams - who himself ran for Wales when they finished fourth in the 1970 Commonwealth Games 4x100m relay - produced a fine finish.

The 22-year-old from Cardiff raced past the French pair of Norman Keita and Sebastien Maillard to clinch third spot by just one-hundredths-of-a-second in 49.13seconds.

In the immediate aftermath of the race Williams was unaware he had beaten Maillard and thought, just as at the Commonwealth Games in March, he had narrowly blown his chances.

But his disappointment quickly turned to delight when within a minute the scoreboard flashed up he had finished behind Greek winner Periklis Iakovakis (48.46sec) and Marek Plawgo of Poland (48.71sec).

Williams, also penalised for a false start, said: "That was too close for comfort," said Williams, also penalised for a false start. "I tried to stay relaxed.

"When I crossed the finishing line I thought: 'Oh, fourth again, like at the Commonwealth Games.' But I was wrong - this is just amazing.

"I knew the Greek was going to go off fast, so I tried to run my own race.

"But it was not a good race because I went off a little bit too slow - I was so nervous and I'm glad that's over."