Our Laura is facing fight to fulfil her gold dream
FAITH KIPYEGON (KENYA)
THE Olympic champion from Rio 2016, she is the second fastest in the world this year. The winner of her heat and semi-final, having won three of her four races this season coming into the championships.
She took a silver medal in the World Championships in Beijing in 2015, as well as Commonwealth Games gold in 2014. PB: 3:56.41; SB: 3:57.51.
GENZEBE DIBABA (ETHIOPIA)
THE world record-holder at the distance (3:50.07 from 2015), but the 26-year-old only qualified for the final in London as a fastest loser after finishing sixth in her semi-final on Saturday. Her former coach, Jama Aden, was arrested by Spanish police last May when vials of EPO, the banned blood-boosting substance, were found at his hotel. PB: 3:50.07; SB: 3:57.82.
JENNY SIMPSON (USA)
THE 30- year- old is on the fringes of contention. She hass demonstrated already her ability to deliver medalwinning performances in champion-ship finals. Simpsonn (below) won the titletle in the World Champion-pionships in Daegu in 2011011 and followed it with silver in 2013 and bronze at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. PB: 3:57.22; SB: 4:02.57.
LAURA MUIR (GB)
THE 24-year- old Scot is an exceptional talent, having won two European indoor titles this season and broken five British records in the past 12 months. She came into these championships with the second fastest 1500m time in the field, clocked at the Anniversary Games in the same staddium last month. Her brilliant pprogress in the ppast year was unundermined by a fracfractured foot at the start of the summer. She lost a month of training time, so the question is whether the rounds have taken too much out of her. She looked comfortable in the heats and semi-final, in which she finished fourth and second respectively, and her precompetition outings were also encouraging, with personal bests set in the 800m and mile. With this final and the 5,000m still to come, she remains Britain’s best hope of a track medal beyond Mo Farah. PB: 3:55.22; SB: 4:00.35.