Volha Mazuronak survived a horrendous nose bleed and a wrong turn at the finish to win a thrilling European Championship women’s marathon.

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The 29-year-old from Belarus was looking comfortable in the lead group when her face was suddenly covered in blood just after 30 minutes into the race. It initially looked as if someone had thrown paint into her face and on her hands, but it turned out that it was a nose bleed.

Eventually Mazuronak, who was fifth in the Rio Olympics, was able to clean her face with a sponge at a water station and slowly shook off her rivals until only the French runner Clemence Calvin was left.

As the two athletes ran towards the last few hundred metres at the finish, it looked as if Mazouronak had established a decisive advantage – only to then turn the wrong way. That allowed Calvin to catch up, but the Belarus athlete had enough left in the tank to power away and win in 2hr 26min 22sec – six seconds clear of Calvin. The Czech athlete Eva Vrabcova Nyvltova took bronze. Tracey Barlow, who finished 15th in 2hr 35min.

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Sonia Samuels and Caryl Jones were the other British athletes to complete the circuit, finishing 21st and 30th respectively. Those results meant Spain edged Britain out of the bronze medal position into fourth in the team event.