Muir leads the way as SIX Scots go for gold at worlds
... what comes next for Muir?
LAURA MUIR will go for gold in the 1500 metres Final at the World Championships in Doha tonight — leading the way in what could be an historic weekend for Scottish athletics. The 26-year-old European champion is targeting her first major medal at a global event and is confident she can make the podium, saying: ‘I’m so, so close. I just need one more step.’ Muir is joined in her medal quest by Eilish McColgan, in the 5,000m, and Callum Hawkins, who takes on the marathon at midnight local time. Tomorrow evening, there will be at least three more Scots going for gold after Neil Gourley, Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman all qualified for the final of the men’s 1500m.
Laura MuIr has a plan to be champion of the world. run fast. run smart. run happy.
and as she readies herself to pursue gold in tonight’s 1500 metres final, the 26-year-old has schemed out a route map which she trusts will deliver her greatest prize to date.
With her coach andy Young quietly scheming behind the scenes, the Scot has shrugged off a severely-torn calf to regroup and revitalise her chances. No obvious ill effects, so far, from two races that did not force her to test the recovery to the limit.
This evening will be different. Everything at stake. No holding back. Muir, ferocious in her ambitions, has the talent and experience to become the uK’s third golden girl of this week in Doha.
‘From the start of this year, this has been the championships where I thought I could get my first global outdoor medal,’ she said. ‘I’ve been fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh at worlds and global (Olympic) finals… I know I’m so, so close. I just need one more step.
‘It’s just unfortunate the preparation I’ve had coming into this but I still feel I’m in a good place and, if I could get that medal, it would be even sweeter. It would be a really big achievement for me.’
The familiar threat of Sifan Hassan lurks, with the Dutchwoman blocking out the din of noise that erupted earlier this week when her coach alberto Salazar was unceremoniously ejected from the sport for doping offences.
already the 10,000m champion here, she is under strict instructions to have no contact with the disgraced Svengali.
Muir may have some collegiate assistance from Canadian champion Gabi Stafford, who has accelerated up the rankings since she joined Young’s training group in Glasgow last winter.
‘I can’t tell you about our tactics,’ Muir said with a grin.
Meanwhile, Eilidh Doyle, missing the championships for the first time since 2009 because she is due to give birth in January, will be cheering her team-mate on from back home.
‘I think what everyone really respects about Laura is how hard she works,’ said the 400metre hurdler and 4x400 relay star, who has won medals at every level up to and including the Olympics.
‘as a fellow athlete, I really appreciate how much she puts in. I don’t have to see her training every day to know how she works. I can see it out there in races.
‘This is clearly an athlete who is getting everything out of herself, not cutting any corners, just leaving nothing behind.
‘and, on top of that, she’s such a humble and modest person — you almost wouldn’t notice her walking around the team hotel or athletes’ village.
‘She’s not this big, bolshie character. She prefers to be incognito — but will always be friendly, which is nice.
‘So, yes, Laura is a phenomenal athlete. But she’s got other qualities that people really respect, like sportsmanship, manners, the way she treats her team-mates and her rivals.’
Fellow Scot Callum Hawkins is another medal hope this evening in the men’s marathon.
He revealed he turned his garden shed into a sauna using heaters from aldi to prepare for the brutal conditions that await.
The forecast is for 32 degrees and 50-per-cent-humidity for the 26.2-mile race, which starts at midnight to avoid the worst of the desert heat.
The women’s race last Friday descended into farce with only 40 of 68 starters completing the course.
Now Hawkins has detailed how he took measures to prepare by running on a treadmill in his shed, surrounded by supermarket heaters.
He said: ‘It’s a big, proper shed. I’ve been getting the aldi heaters in there. I got the temperature up to 39 degrees at one point.
‘I think the main thing is just how you prepare. If your body’s not ready to do it, it won’t. There’s nothing you can do — it will just get too hot too quickly. There’s a lot of water out and the drink stations are a bit closer together than at other marathons.’
Hawkins has first-hand experience of scorching conditions, having collapsed just one mile from the finish line while leading the Commonwealth Games marathon in australia last year.
The 27-year-old Scot, who was fourth at London 2017, said: ‘I’ve had a lot of help from British athletics and obviously, from what happened on the Gold Coast, I’ve learnt a lot and been trying different things. Sometimes, it’s up to the athlete to look at the conditions and see what they need to do.’
If I could get that medal, it would be a big achievement for me