Parent clap: Laura elated mum and dad saw her win
GLASGOW 2019 After years of absent minds and near misses, Muir’s
WINNING gold medals never gets old. But of all the formalities Laura Muir had to go through after destroying the best the continent had to offer over 1500m in Berlin on Sunday evening, one of them was extra special.
By now, the 25-year-old is accustomed to all the media conferences and anti-doping protocols which follow her regular heroics. Even the sensation of holding back the tears as she followed in the footsteps of Jesse Owens on the top step of the Olympiastadion can’t have been entirely to alien to her.
But what really separated her first major outdoor gold medal from the rest is the fact that for once her parents Crawford and Alison (pictured below greeting her after the 2012 Olympics) were there to celebrate it with her in person.
“My mum and dad were out there, which was nice, and I got to see them briefly,” said Muir. “I had never actually delivered a medal when they’ve been there watching.
“They came to Rio for the Olympics and I missed out,” she added. “They came to London for the World Championships when I missed out. Then they were meant to come to Birmingham [for the World Indoors, when she won silver and bronze] but got stuck because of the snow. So every single time they’ve been there, I’ve not delivered the medal. So I knew I had to get them a medal this time.”
If a post-race pow-wow with the parents was unusual, it was rarer still for her to have a chinwag with her flesh and blood before she goes out there to perform. While every sportsperson on the planet has a different relationship when it comes to how closely they want their parents to keep track of them, Muir knew plenty of sporting heartache and misfortune early in her career. Shortly after tumbling on the track at Glasgow 2014, after all, she failed to reach the European final in Zurich despite being the third fastest in the field.
“I don’t mind at all whether they are there or not, I just don’t meet them beforehand – I have just got to be 100 per cent focused,” says Muir. “After the race it is fine to meet up.
“They do get nervous, I know they definitely do,” she added. “But they also just get wrapped up in it like everyone else. Watching can be worse than actually racing itself. But they have always been there for me since I was little, watching and supporting.
“I only saw them for five minutes afterwards but they were quite emotional, just happy for me. They know more than anyone the journey I have been on these last few years. How hard I work and what it means to me. Like any mum and dad, they want their kids to do well so it was great for them to be there and see that.”
It is unclear what role the imperative of easing parental nerves had to play, but Muir was determined to ease everybody’s stress levels. Going into the race fully five seconds quicker than everyone else in the field – Sifan Hassan, perhaps wisely, opted for what she saw as a safer gold medal in the 5,000m – she accelerated off the front with 1000m to go, turning a European final into a glorified practice race.
Her ability to handle the pressure of being outright favourite augurs well for the
‘‘ I only saw them for five minutes but they were quite emotional