The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Muir to get back on track against world-class field
Outdoor season debut at Eugene Diamond League
Laura Muir starts her outdoor season against a world-class 1,500m field at the Eugene Diamond League tomorrow.
Muir, boosted by the news she passed her final exams for her veterinary degree at Glasgow University (see page 3), is the fastest in the field with a British record 3:55.22.
She made two finals last year at the London World Championships, taking fourth in a hectic 1,500m finish (just 0.07 seconds short of a medal) before finishing sixth in the 5,000m.
More recently, the Milnathort athlete won 1,500m silver and 3,000m bronze at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham last March.
Jenny Simpson, the 2011 world champion, reigning Olympic bronze medallist and runner-up at last year’s World Championships, will be the key attraction for the Hayward Field crowd, while Dawit Seyaum (Ethiopia) is no stranger to Oregon fans.
The 21-year-old won gold at the 2014 World Under-20 Championships held at Hayward Field and in 2016 won silver at the World Indoor Championships in Portland. She has a lifetime best of 3:58.09.
Morpeth’s Laura Weightman, who claimed 5,000m bronze at the Commonwealth Games will be looking to shade under four minutes for the first time, her personal best standing at 4:00.17.
Meanwhile Caster Semenya (South Africa), who swept every middledistance medal at the Rio Olympics and last year’s World Championships, heads the 800m.
World champion Elijah Manangoi and 2017 Diamond League champion Timothy Cheruiyot renew their rivalry in the classic Bowerman Mile.
The Kenyan duo finished first and second respectively at last year’s World Championships and at the recent Commonwealth Games.
Genzebe Dibaba (Ethiopia) and Hellen Obiri (Kenya) headline the women’s 5,000m.
Obiri won last year’s world title and Diamond Trophy in the 5,000m, but Dibaba came back from an off year with a historic 1,500m/3,000m double-gold performance at the World Indoor Championships in March.
Reece Prescod, a surprise winner of the 100m at the Shanghai Diamond League, joins GB colleague CJ Ujah in the sprint against the USA’s Christian Coleman and Justin Gatlin.
European 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith will be returning to Hayward Field for the first time since winning the 2014 World Under-20 100m title.
The British 100m and 200m recordholder takes on world champion Tori Bowie (USA), Olympic champion Elaine Thompson (Jamaica), two-time world 200m champion Dafne Schippers (Netherlands) and world indoor 60m champion Murielle Ahoure (Ivory Coast).