Record-breaker Muir living the dream
LAURA MUIR admits she has accelerated beyond her own expectations after claiming her second European record inside a month at the Muller Grand Prix in Birmingham. The 23-year-old underlined she will be tough to beat at next week’s European Indoor Championships by winning the 1,000metres in 2:31.95, barely a second outside Maria Mutola’s world record but inside Kelly Holmes long-standing British mark. ‘It is every athlete’s dream to be running well every time you come out on the track and being injury-free,’ said Muir. ‘Hopefully I can carry this sort of form into the summer.’ With UK Athletics selectors meeting today to finalise their squad for Belgrade, it is set to include five Scots, with Muir’s plea to double up over 1,500m and 3,000m certain to be granted. Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan could join Muir in her longer distance, with Guy Learmonth in the 800m and Eilidh Doyle in the 400m. And the Olympic bronze medallist, who was fourth in Birmingham, says the youngest of the bunch is now the leader of the pack. ‘Everybody’s been doing so well but obviously I’ve got a special connection with Laura because it was 2013 when she got her first senior vest at Euro Indoors and she was sharing a room with me,’ said Doyle, who turns 30 today. ‘It was great to properly meet her and watch her. You go back to Kinross and people would be asking about her. That’s really nice.’ A silver medallist at the 2013 European indoors, Doyle was off the pace at the Grand Prix but is sure she will rebound in Serbia. ‘At the Europeans, I know what not to do now,’ she said. ‘It would have been nice to have run better but it’s still my second-best time of the season.’ Mo Farah also set a new European Indoor record in the 5,000m and was emotional after running the final race of his career indoors, winning in 13:09.16. He held off a tough challenge from Albert Rop of Bahrain which bodes well for the defence of his 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the world championships in London in August. The 33-year-old, who will retire from the track later this year, will fly to Ethiopia for a month-long altitude training camp.