David Omoregie, right, saw off Orlando Ortega at the European Athletics Team Championships ©Getty Images

David Omoregie did his best to indicate to Spain’s Olympic silver medallist Orlando Ortega that he will not have tomorrow’s 110 metre hurdles final at the European Athletics Team Championships all his own way.

The 21-year-old from Great Britain beat Ortega in their showdown in the heats against Ortega, who used to represent Cuba until switching to the European country in September 2013.

Omoregie clocked a time of 13.34sec at the Stadium Lille-Métropole in Lille, beating the Spaniard by 0.02.

For the first time, these Championships involved an opening session of heats for sprints and hurdles in order to reduce the two main days to programmes of finals.

Jack Green looks capable of getting Britain off to a winning start on the track on the first main day of action after winning his heat of the 400m hurdles – traditionally the first running event of this competition – in 49.96, the best qualifying time. 

Spain’s Sergio Fernandez was second fastest in 50.28.

The margin of victory for Green’s colleague Eilidh Doyle in the first of the women’s 400m hurdles heats was even greater as the 2014 European champion and Rio 2016 finalist finished 20m clear, again slowing, in a season’s best of 55.76. 

Britain's Jack Green, right, en route to the fastest 400m hurdles qualifying time on the opening day of the European Athletics Team Championships in Lille ©Getty Images
Britain's Jack Green, right, en route to the fastest 400m hurdles qualifying time on the opening day of the European Athletics Team Championships in Lille ©Getty Images

Britain also topped the qualifying for the men’s 100m as Harry Aikines-Aryeetey won the first heat in 10.33 ahead of Germany’s Julian Reus who clocked 10.36.

The Netherlands’s European champion Churandy Martina, won his heat in 10.39.

France, denied the presence of the Jimmy Vicaut, who leads this year’s European rankings with 9.97, because of a torn hamstring, fielded Stuart Dutamby, who was fifth fastest in 10.52.

But the crowd who filled the main stand in the pleasant evening sunshine had a French winner to cheer as Carole Zahl won her 100m heat in the fastest qualifying time of 11.34. 

German 20-year-old Gina Luckenkemper, second in the 2017 European lists behind Dutch sprinter Dafne Schippers, won her heat in 11.40.

Germany’s European Indoor bronze medallist Pamela Dutkiewicz topped the qualifying in the 100m hurdles, decelerating to a win in 12.82. 

Alina Talay of Belarus was second fastest in 13.11.

Greece’s Likourgos-Stefanos Tsakonas maintained his standing as favourite in the 200m with the fastest qualifying time of 20.33, a season’s best, ahead of Poland’s Karel Zalewski and the Czech Republic’s double world indoor 400m champion Pawel Maslak.