It was meant to be a special occasion, and indeed Saturday night turned out to be one. Joe Thomas’s debut in a GB vest, just two days after his 21^st birthday, brought the young athlete from Pontypridd a bronze medal and a new indoor Personal Best at the Aviva International Match in Glasgow.

Faced with classy opposition such as Kenya’s Richard Kiplagat and eventual winner Rene Bauschinger from Germany, Joe Thomas clocked a time of 1:49.73, his first ever indoor performance under 1:50.

Joe, however, is not new to great performances; last year, he ran 800m outdoor in 1:46.20 – the second fastest Briton in 2008, and the third best Welshman in history. With Joe’s development being carefully controlled by coach Arwyn Davies, the record times of Neil Horsfield and Gareth Brown might be in immediate danger: 1:45.44 (Horsfield, 1990) and 1:46.16 (Brown, 1986) don’t look far at all.