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BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech track athlete Neil Gourley won a bronze medal in the 1,500-meter run at the European Athletics U23 Championships being held in Tallinn, Estonia.

Gourley, a junior from Glasgow, Scotland, was one of 12 qualifiers in the finals on Saturday and finished third with a time of 3 minutes, 45.04 seconds. He finished just .13 seconds behind second-place finisher Sheikh Ali Mohad Abdikadar of Italy. Marc Alcala of Spain won the event with a time of 3:44.54.

Gourley qualified for the finals after coming in third in a preliminary heat on Thursday with a time of 3:45.58. The top four in each of the two heats qualified for the finals, along with the top four times after that. Gourley’s time was ninth-fastest overall among the 12 qualifiers in the finals.

Gourley did not qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 1,500 during the outdoor season, but he was a first-team All-ACC choice in the event after finishing in second place at the ACC Outdoor Track and Field Championships held in Tallahassee, Florida, in May.

Gourley’s time at the European Athletics U23 Championships was his best time this season.

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