NATHAN Douglas cut a downcast figure after finishing seventh in the European Indoor Athletics Championships triple jump final in Glasgow last night, writes STUART WEIR.

The Oxford City member opened with an encouraging leap of 16.33 metres.

But Douglas then struggled to find his rhythm, with three fouls sandwiched by leaps of 15.36 and 15.98.

The event was won by Azerbaijan’s Nazim Babayev, who jumped 17.29, with the 2008 Olympic champion Nelson Evora, from Portugal, second with 17.11.

“Obviously I am disappointed,” he said.

“I decided to go for it from the start.

“As you could see in the third and fifth rounds, I just badly mis-timed it. I gave it my all but just didn’t catch it.

“One of the things which is tough with the indoors is the lack of competition – I only had one before the British Championships.

“Now I will have a rest and then it will be back into training for the outdoor season, working towards the World Championships in Doha.”