A Berlin wall and a Glasgow crowd. Both were referenced by Chris O’Hare last night as a wall of noise carried this feisty 28-year-old from West Linton down the home straight to a famous European Indoor silver medal on home soil. Splitting up a family isn’t usually something to boast about. But, when the family in question is the Ingebritsens, it certainly was for O’Hare last night.

The role played by the Emirates Arena audience was obvious enough. Stepping up this indoor season from his usual 1500m, O’Hare was taking on two members of the most awe-inspiring family in track and field here, with the pair at times appearing to work in tandem. With 18-year-old wunderkind Jakob running on the kind of exalted level right now where only the likes of Laura Muir can tread, soon it was O’Hare against Jakob’s extravagantly moustached elder brother Henrik for the places.

Lord knows there was still work to be done as the Scot went round that final bend, but he worked his way onto the Norwegian’s shoulder just as the decibel level went through the roof. He inexorably edged himself in front, only for a despairing Ingebritsen Snr to throw himself at the line. With both men clocked at 7.57.19, the officials had to consult the negatives before they could confirm that O’Hare had succeeded in photobombing this pair’s private party. Andy Butchart – on his first major championship after a lengthy injury lay-off – was back in tenth.

“I definitely got there on crowd power,” said O’Hare. “With 200 to go I looked back and thought ‘right, I’ve got bronze, now just try to give it everything to get on to Henrik’s shoulder’. It took everything to get there then round the bend this place just erupted. It does pick you up and chuck you towards the line.

“With Jakob in races now it feels like there’s only two medals left,” he added. “The guy is incredible so I am happy to split up the Ingebritsens and it is good just to be back on the medal podium. It has been four years and it has been a hell of a four years. But I wouldn’t change it, it has made me the person I am.”

Which brings us to the Berlin wall. Even if it wasn’t THAT Berlin wall. While this was O’Hare’s third European medal – outdoor or indoor – in all, what really made the moment sweeter was the fact he had sat down after his ninth-place finish at the outdoor European Championships in Berlin last August with his mum and dad and damn near decided to give up on the sport. The cumulative effect of disappointment at major championships and three months away from his wife Meredith and young son Ronan can do that to people.

“After the European outdoors last year I was in a pretty dark place,” the Scot admitted. “If it wasn’t for my wife, my son, my parents, my siblings and my support team I would have given up for sure. I sat on a wall in Berlin with my mum and my dad and it was like ‘this is too hard, it is not worth it any more’.I had been gone from this point for three months away from my wife and son and I just thought it isn’t worth it.”

Fast forward six months and he has a medal for every member of his family – although, with a second child to arrive ‘bang in the middle of the track season’, he will soon have to get another one. “My wife is 22 weeks pregnant and my son Ronan is a mental case so they’re not here!” joked O’Hare, left pondering adding the outdoor 5,000m to his range of events. “It would have been hard for them to come. But they’re six hours behind and I’ll be able to Facetime them all night because I’ll not sleep out after this.”

As it happened, this wasn’t the first time this weekend this pair had battled it out to the death. The Scot had been criticised for expending too much energy when making sure he finished ahead of Henrik Ingebritsen in their heat, the pair of pals even jokingly challenging each other in a TV question and answer session if ‘that was all they have got’. “I got a bit of criticism yesterday for maybe going a bit hard to win it, but with 150m to go I knew I could do it – because I had done it before,” he said. “That, along with crowd, threw me across the line.”

Today it is the turn of Neil Gourley, the only authentic Glaswegian in the nine-strong Scottish contingent, to have a go at preventing young Jakob - a double outdoor European winner in Berlin at 1500m and 5000m - from adding 1500m gold to his indoor 3000m triumph. O’Hare fancies his fellow Stateside Scot’s chances of a medal but reckons we could see a double ‘double double’. “Jakob is an animal - if I had any money to put on him I would! But not only will Laura win but I’m certain she’ll make it look easy. She’s off the scale. The last thing we’d need on top of Jakob is Laura coming into our races. “