UK Athletics has welcomed the decision of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) to carry out an investigation into allegations about Alberto Salazar’s operations at the Nike Oregon Project made on June 3 in the BBC Panorama programme Catch Me If You Can.

Six qualification places for Rio 2016 are up for grabs in the Modern Pentathlon World Championships which are due to get underway in Berlin tomorrow, 50 years after Germany first held the event, in Leipzig.

Danish gold in the European Games badminton event grew to three here today as Line Kjaersfeldt, the self-styled “queen” of the sport in her country, produced a suitably regal performance to claim the women’s singles title, shortly before Sara Thygesen and Niclas Nohr earned the mixed doubles gold to add to the one won in the previous night’s men’s doubles.

The Turkish women’s volleyball team had vowed to “fight” to earn European Games gold here today against a Polish team that had beaten them 3-2 in the qualifying stages – but that did not turn out to be necessary as they disposed of their opposition in straight sets.

Ivan Trevejo, an Olympic fencing silver medallist in 1996, completed a golden double here in the European Games fencing as he helped France earn the men’s epee team gold four days after winning the individual gold - at the age of 43.

Sebastian Coe and Sergey Bubka, candidates for the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Presidency, have made their latest appeal to the 214 Member Federations on the crucial subject of athletics development - with Coe promising more direct revenue, and Bubka vowing to create more individualised development programmes.

Mo Farah has insisted he will continue to work with Alberto Salazar after accepting the response his coach has made to allegations of doping offences raised by a BBC Panorama documentary earlier this month.

Russian domination of the European Games swimming was maintained in the grand style here tonight as their athletes won five of the seven golds on offer, with Daniil Pakhomov twice breaking the world junior record in the men’s 100 metres butterfly.

Russia’s domination of combat sports at the European Games was maintained on the first day of the European Judo Championships being staged here within Baku 2015, winning five out of five of their medal matches and taking both men’s golds in the under 60 kilogram and under 66kg classes.

Alberto Salazar has responded to allegations made earlier this month in a BBC Panorama documentary that he violated anti-doping rules in his coaching of several athletes within the Nike Oregon Project, most notably Galen Rupp, the Olympic 10,000 metres silver medallist, has issued his long-awaited riposte in the form of a 12,000 word open letter.

Nineteen years after earning a fencing silver for Cuba at the Atlanta Olympics, 43-year-old Ivan Trevejo returned to the international medal podium here today - this time on the middle step after defeating Russia’s Sergey Khodos 15-8 in the final of the men’s individual epee at the European Games.

Russia may be the big battalion in the European Games swimming, but Britain ruled the pool on the first day of competition as they won three of the seven golds on offer thanks to Abbie Wood in the opening women’s 4x100 metres individual medley, Holly Hibbott in the 800m freestyle and the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team.

Svein Arne Hansen, President of European Athletics, is “optimistic” that the sport will take place at the next European Games in 2019, and hinted that there could be a new format for competition.

A dropped baton in the men’s 4x400 metres relay cost Austria the European Games athletics gold here tonight by the narrowest of margins as a jubilant, if shocked, Slovakia pushed them into second place.