Husillos just managed to hold off a strong Dutch challenge from Tony Van Diepen and Liemarvin Bonevacia in a season’s best of 46.22, his expression swiftly changing from agonised effort to relieved joy in the spectator-free Torun Arena.

But if Dutch ambitions were thwarted in the men’s 400m there was no holding the Dutch phenomenon Femke Bol as she lived up to all expectations to win the women’s 400m final, improving her European 2021 best time by 0.01 second as she clocked a personal best of 50.63.

Day three of the 36th European Athletics Indoor Championships offered further drama as Ukraine’s Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk won an outstanding women’s long jump final in dramatic fashion with a final effort of 6.92 metres, a personal best and the furthest seen this year, bettering the lead held by Germany’s world champion Malaika Mihambo by four centimetres.

Husillos was fully rewarded on this occasion for a bold front run and a desperately determined finish on the long final straight in Torun.

Van Diepen was closing fast on the Spaniard, but he had lost crucial time in the long finishing straight after having to move outside his team-mate Bonevacia and he had to settle for silver in 46.25, with Bonevacia claiming bronze in 46.30.

The victory added gold to the European indoor silver Husillos earned in Glasgow two years ago when he finished behind Norway’s Karsten Warholm as he equalled the European indoor record of 45.05.

"First of all, I need to thank my coach, my team, my physio," Husillos said. 

"They all trusted in me. 

"It was hard one and a half years but they believed in me and I was thinking about them while crossing the line.

"It reminds me of the world indoors when I lost the medal but I came here today and won. I suffered a lot but it paid off."

Bol lived up imperiously to her position as favourite as she finished two metres clear of Poland’s European outdoor champion Justyna Swiety-Ersetic.

This 21-year-old 400m hurdles specialist thus became the first Dutch woman to win this European title and afterwards she praised the coach who guides her and Klaver at the national training centre in Papendal, Laurent Meuwly.

"It's crazy," she said. 

"So much has changed in the last one-and-a-half years since I was the European junior champion. 

"If I run like an experienced runner, it's because of good advice I've been getting from my coach and also from more experienced colleagues."

There was no catching the serene Bol, but the home runner came home strongly for silver in 51.41 with Britain’s Jodie Williams - whose last individual medals were 200m silver in the 2014 European Championships and Commonwealth Games - taking bronze in a personal best of 51.73.

After Bekh-Romanchuk’s exultant final effort, Mihambo’s effort to regain top spot with the final long jump of the competition was huge - 7.07m, in fact - but she had taken off fully 29 centimetres ahead of the board and only registered 6.78m, thus having to settle for silver with 6.88m.

The mark set by Bekh-Romanchuk, European and world silver medallist, bettered by a centimetre the world under-20 record set last month by Italy’s 18-year-old Larissa Iapichino, daughter of double world champion and Olympic silver medallist Fiona May, who finished fifth with 6.59m.

The bronze medal went to Sweden’s Khaddi Sagna, who recorded 6.75m.

"It was a perfect evening," said the gold medallist. 

"I am very happy. 

"It is my first gold medal, 

"I couldn't imagine a better competition. 

"Before the last jump I was very focused, 

"I knew I was well prepared despite the short indoor season, and I achieved fantastic result."

Italy’s former long jumper Marcell Jacobs was the class of the field in the men’s 60m final as he powered home over the final 30 metres to finish with daylight between him and the rest of the field in a national record of 6.47, the fastest run by a European this season.

Kevin Kranz of Germany took silver with 6.60, with bronze going to Slovakia’s defending champion Ján Volko in 6.61.

Belgium’s Elise Vanderelst, fastest on paper in the women’s 1500m final, was fastest on track also, tracking Esther Guerrero at the bell after the Spaniard had sparked the race into life in the penultimate lap following three minutes of perilous coasting and bunching and then moving clear to win in 4min 18.44sec.

Guerrero paid for her enterprise as she slipped back to sixth, with Britain’s Holly Archer coming through to finish second in 4:19.91 - being disqualified for pushing and then reinstated to silver - and Germany’s Hanna Klein placing third in 4:20.07.

There was drama too in the women’s pole vault, where Switzerland’s Angelica Moser was a surprise - and surprised - gold medallist with a personal best clearance of 4.75m as Britain’s Holly Bradshaw, strong favourite after clearing 4.85m this season, had to settle for a share of bronze with a best of 4.65m.

World decathlon record holder Kevin Mayer did enough in the fourth and final heptathlon event of the day, the high jump, to take over the lead from the 21-year-old Swiss athlete who had established himself with victories in the 60 metres and long jump events, Simon Ehammer.

Mayer, who has an indoor high jump best of 2.10m, called it a day after one failed attempt at 2.07m, earning fourth place with his clearance of 2.04m.

Assuming all is well, and all goes well in tomorrow’s concluding events of the 60m hurdles, pole vault and 1000 metres, the Frenchman could be on for a European record.

As it is the points he secured took his total to 3,571, a lead of 33 points over Ehammer, who finished 10th in the high jump with 1.95m.

Spain’s defending champion Jorge Urena is third with 3,524 points ahead of Germany’s Andrew Bechmann, who has 3,419.