A WARRINGTON athlete has achieved second place in a European race.

Steve Watmough only finished behind Bruce Graham from Australia in his age group, meaning the Warrington Athletics Club veteran was first from this continent in a European Masters Open 5k.

Although all athletics has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, this has not stopped races being organised all over the world.

This is being achieved via virtual events using GPS watches and sending the performances to various organisers.

The European Masters Open 5k was one such event.

Watmough ran a loop course near High Legh where he recorded a time of 16 minutes 37 seconds to place him 29th overall and second in the over 55s group.

Graham clocked 16 minutes 31 seconds on a course just outside the Australian capital Canberra to beat Watmough by six seconds.

When you consider Graham's CV, it highlights how good a performance was produced by Watmough.

At the 2018 World Masters Championships, Graham won the silver medal in the cross country and finished seventh in the 1500 metres and 5000 metres.

Graham is no stranger to Watmough, as he finished behind him in eighth in that 5000 metres event while Watmough's efforts contributed to a winning Great Britain team overall.

Dave Norman was another Warrington runner in the European Masters Open, finishing 89th overall and sixth in the over 60s age group with a time of 18 minutes 17 seconds on a course near Kingsley.