Ukrainian duo of Iryna Lishchynska and Nataliya Tobias celebrate their podium finish after the 1500m final in Beijing.

Despite being mired in controversies following suspension of several top Russian athletes just before the Beijing Olympic Games, the women's middle distance running in Europe had reasons to celebrate in the year gone by.

Three European athletes made it to the finals of the 800m at the Beijing Olympic Games, with Svetlana Klyuka of Russia narrowly missing the bronze medal with a fourth place finish. In the 1500m, it was even better as Ukrainian Iryna Lishchynska lead the European trio to 2-4 places. Compatriot Nataliya Tobias captured the bronze medal.

29-year-old Tatyana Andrianova of Russia went to Beijing having set a personal best of 1:56.00 in the 800m at the national championships in July. She competed abroad three times before the Olympics notching an impressive win in Kalamata, Greece, in June. Despite being a top title contender in Beijing, Andrianova could only finish eighth in the final. Instead 30-year-old Svetlana Klyuka, who also registered her personal best 1:56.64 at the national championships in Kazan, emerged as the best European Athlete in Beijing.

Apart from that one race Klyuka had done nothing to indicate international success, she had finished 11th in her only race outside Russia in Berlin in June. But she was impressive at the Olympics winning both her heat and semifinal and almost got a medal ending up with a fourth place in the end, the best European in the 800m final.

28-year-old Yuliya Krevsun (UKR) was seventh in Beijing. The Ukrainian had earned a name for herself this season following a scintillating 1:57.63 at the World University Games last year. In Osaka at the World Championships she could not advance from the heat despite registering a fast timing, but in Beijing she did much better setting a personal best 1:57.32 in the semifinal.

The 1500m field in 2008 was much more open, although Maryam Jamal (BRN) went to Beijing as the favourite. But there were plenty of medal hopes from Europe. Iryna Lishchynska (UKR), who had won the bronze in Osaka 2007, had run a 4:01.61 season's best before Beijing and she lived up to the expectations leading a strong European challenge in the Olympics final. The Ukrainian took the silver, while Nancy Lagat (KEN) won the race.

However it was fellow Ukrainian Nataliya Tobias, who sprang the real surprise winning the bronze in Beijing. The 28-year-old could not even advance from her heat at the World Indoor Championships in Valencia and had hardly anything to show before the Beijing either. Tobias set a big personal best 4:01.78 for the bronze medal having set a season's best 4:03.19 in the heats. British medal hope Lisa Dobriskey was fourth. The Briton had run 4:00.64 in a mixed race before the Olympics and was regarded as a possible gold medal challenger before Beijing. 4:02.10 in the Olympic final for fourth place was her best time in a non-mixed race.