- George Mills secured Britain’s first medal at European Athletics Championships
- 25-year-old won silver in the 5000m before Romell Glave claimed 100m bronze
Danny Mills has been an observer at the Stadio Olimpico before. The former England defender was on the bench when Leeds drew with Roma in the UEFA Cup in March 2000 and again when they beat Lazio in the Champions League nine months later.
But Mills has never felt tension like he did on Saturday night watching his son George win a silver medal in the 5,000 metres at the European Championships.
‘Watching athletics is the worst thing on the planet,’ said the 47-year-old. ‘In football, if you make a mistake, you can come back. You’ve got a team to bail you out.
‘In athletics, there are no mistakes. You work 10 years for moments like this and then you get 13 minutes to perform.
‘It’s like having a 13-minute penalty shootout. It’s just sudden death from the beginning – you’re waiting for somebody to miss because there are so many things that can go wrong.’
Fortunately, George did not put a foot wrong in Rome, claiming the first major medal of his career in a time of 13min 21.38sec, behind only Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the world champion.
After the race, the 25-year-old insisted the silver was the least he expected and that he was disappointed not to actually beat Norwegian superstar Ingebrigtsen and take the gold.
But Danny said: ‘I think when it settles down and he looks back at it, to only lose to Jakob and to pick up a silver medal in your first major championships is a phenomenal achievement.
‘You have to enjoy moments like this because you never know when the next one’s coming round. I had one season of Champions League, one World Cup, one major final, and it’s gone.
‘You’ve got to enjoy it while it lasts and still prepare and be ready for what’s coming next.
‘Obviously now he’ll start getting ready tomorrow for Olympic trials. That’ll be the forefront of his mind. It’ll be about recovery.’
Indeed, George said he would not even have a glass of shandy in celebration, as he immediately turns his attention to those all-important trials in Manchester at the end of the month.
He will train for them in St Moritz, Switzerland, where he is based in the summer as part of training group, On Athletics Club Europe, who also spend their winters at Dullstroom, South Africa.
‘George made a big leap two years ago to leave home and go to completely different country, but he’s done magnificently,’ said Danny.
‘He is one of the most dedicated athletes I know. I have spent my whole life in sport and with George there’s no stone unturned. There’s nothing he will not do to make sure that he’s ready.
‘I wasn’t a big drinker, but it was football culture. We got away with stuff from time to time. But George will not do anything at all that is not good for his running. He will not put anything in his body that isn’t good for him.’
George is bidding to earn selection for the Paris Olympics in both the 1500m and the 5,000m. He is one of five Brits – including past and present world champions Jake Wightman and Josh Kerr – to have the qualifying time for the 1500m, and one of four to have hit the standard in the 5,000m.
Should he make Paris, George can be sure his dad will be in the stands at the Stade de France.
‘I’ve been at nearly every big race he’s been a part of,’ added Danny. ‘I went to Samoa for the Commonwealth Youth Games. We all went to Tbilisi for the European Youth Championships. I was in Turkey for the European Indoors.
‘He was devastated to miss out on the World Championships last year, but it spurred him on. It made him more determined to go, “I’m not letting that happen again”.
‘When we got to the start of this year, we said, “What are you going for?” and he just went, “I have to make teams”. Hopefully he gets on the plane to Paris. We’re all very proud.’
Mills’ silver was Britain’s first medal in Rome, but Romell Glave claimed their second in the next event with bronze in the 100m.
He clocked 10.06sec to finish behind home favourite Marcell Jacobs, the Olympic champion, who won in 10.02sec ahead of his countryman Chituru Ali.
‘I am happy with a bronze medal but not satisfied,’ said Glave, who was appearing in his first major championships.
Glave outshone his team-mate CJ Ujah, who failed to make the final in his first major appearance since his failed drugs test cost Team GB an Olympic 4x100m silver at Tokyo in 2021.
Ujah finished fifth in his semi-final in a pedestrian 10.24sec.