Britain’s David Smith and Steph McGuire today both won gold in the individual competition at the European Championships in Seville while Claire Taggart grabbed silver.

Defending champion David Smith (Swansea / Eastleigh) faced old rival Russia's Mikhail Gutnik and fought to a 5-2 victory after dismissing Andre Ramos of Portugal 8-1 in the semi-final:

“I’m ecstatic to retain my title from five years ago – ironically enough, the same final against Mikhail. It’s been a really tournament with a really high standard and my competitors have pushed me all the way. I’m looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into the Team event and see if we can get some more bling!”

Steph McGuire (Hamilton, Scotland) was overjoyed to become European Champion, after he last won the title in 2017. He stormed to a 4-3 victory over Radek Prochazka from the Czech Republic. Earlier in the day, he beat Arten Kolinko from the Ukraine 4-2:

“This is my fourth gold medal at the European Championships – the first was 12 years ago - and it is a dream come true. To still reach the top pf the podium is a testament to the support around me.

“The Pairs event starts tomorrow and Evie Edwards and I are relishing the challenge. We achieved silver last time and would love to get among the medals again this year.”

And it was silver for world number two Claire Taggart (Larne, Northern Ireland). The Northern Ireland player has had a terrific tournament and led the final of the BC2 women’s individuals for most of the match. Going into the third end 4-0 up, Portuguese player Christina Goncalves took the game long to maximise points – a strategy that ultimately paid off and saw her win 5-4.

Taggart said:

“It feels amazing to have been part of the first European Championships with separate male and female classifications. To come away with a silver medal is a bonus and puts me on track for the World Championships in December next year.”

She had earlier sent Nagy Vivien of Hungary packing after a 6-1 semi-final victory.

Meanwhile Beth Moulam (York) was unable to claim bronze, losing 3-4 to the experienced Anna Ntenta of Greece. Earlier in the day, her hopes of a place in the final were ended when she lost 3-4 to Germany’s Nancy Poser:

“I was delighted to be playing for medals but disappointed to miss out on a place on the podium.”

The British squad now look forward to the Teams and Pairs event which start tomorrow.

Results are here Event | BCMS (worldboccia.io)