Muir turns up the heat going into big summer
LAURA MUIR has warned her rivals she is “pretty close” to 100 per cent – four weeks out from the World Championships in Oregon.
That’s good news for the British team’s hopes with the Olympic silver medallist comfortably the favourite to claim the UK women’s 1500metres title in Manchester today after winning her heat last night by six seconds.
The 28-year-old should canter to victory as she prepares for a conveyor belt of chances, including the Commonwealths and European Championships.
Following the hip injury that wrecked her winter, the Muir of old is back and this is another brick in building her challenge for golds in the week ahead.
She said: “It’s an opportunity for another race, I’ve not raced much in the last year or so. It’s a chance to try out a couple of different things.
“I’ve not run the 1500m here since 2016, so it would be really nice to regain that.
“My training has been going really well. I just wasn’t translating it into races, which was frustrating.
“So I think it was a bit of a surprise when I ran well last week but it wasn’t to us. It was just nice to get it on paper. It’s a very mixed bag which is quite exciting.”
Olympic bronze medallist Josh Kerr has forecast the mother of all dogfights for the men’s 1500m title after fellow Scots Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley, as well as his fellow Tokyo finalist Jake Heyward, all cruised through their heats.
It sets up a scrap for world berths with one of the UK’s four middle distance marvels poised to miss out.
Zoey Clark and Nicole Yeargin reached the women’s 400m showpiece. while Scottish No.1 Adam Thomas safely progressed into the men’s 100m semis.
But Pitreavie’s new Scottish record holder Jack Lawrie was stranded one place outside the final spots in the 400m hurdles.