There was disappointment at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham for Teddington residents Mo Farah and Jo Pavey.

Pavey, who had been suffering from flu in the run-up to the championships, took the lead from the start of the 3,000m.

But she was passed with two of the 15 laps remaining to finish sixth (8:54.94).

Pavey said: "You feel silly trying to make excuses, but I have had full-blown flu and it was actually unrealistic to be here."

It was always going to be tough for European Cross Country champion Farah in the final of the 3,000m after his fall the day before and so it proved.

After leading early on, Farah faded to fifth (8:03.50). He was running with a sore hip and stiff calf after taking a heavy fall in the previous day's heats.

"I was trying to stay out of trouble because I knew the pace was not too quick," said Farah.

"When I tried to wind it up towards the end, I did not feel so good. I just did not have anything left."

Farah, one of the favourites to take the gold medal, only managed to reach the final as a fastest loser after being tripped in his heat.

Not only did Farah go flying, when he climbed back onto his feet he did not know where he was and started running the wrong way down the back straight.

Amazingly, Farah, who was 30m adrift when he started running the right way, made up so much ground from the back of the field that he qualified as a fastest loser.

"Things happen in races like these but I did not know where I was after I fell," said Farah.

"That was why I started going the wrong way. But I was really disappointed that it happened."

l Belgrave Harriers triathlete Richard Stannard returned to winning ways in the weekly 5km time trial on a waterlogged Bushy Park course on Saturday.

The event was actually run in bright sunshine and Stannard clocked 16 minutes six seconds to beat Stragglers' Aussie marathon runner Jimmy Goulis by 10 seconds.

Farnham Runners' over-50 veteran Mike Anderson was sixth, beating the first over-40 runner by more than a minute.

Thames Hare & Hounds' Charlotte Saunders (19:10) pipped Bath triathlete Emma Davis by nine seconds in the women's race.

For entry details visit bptt.net.