The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Europeans in Muir’s sights after UK win
Milnathort athlete’s successful defence of title stands her in good stead for Euros
Milnathort athlete Laura Muir will compete at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow next month after a headline-grabbing performance at the UK Championships on Saturday.
The Dundee Hawkhill Harrier successfully defended her 3,000m title in Birmingham with an astute display – and later revealed that attempting to repeat her 3,000m and 1,500m golds from Belgrade is now up very much for consideration for the Emirates Arena.
She said: “This will be the first time now that I’ll be heading in as a defending champion at a European Championships and to wear the orange bib for two events is really exciting.
“And now I’m purely excited for the championships after that performance.
“I feel so comfortable indoors in Glasgow, I know the surroundings and I’m in great form.
“The timetable in Glasgow isn’t perfect but it works for me. I think the double double sounds pretty nice to me. If it was anywhere other than Glasgow I might not have done it but it’s my hometown.
“If I could do the double again it would be fantastic. To be able to go to the Europeans and not have the distraction of studying it gives me so much more flexibility and getting away for warm weather training twice has been huge for me.”
The early running in the 3,000m was made by former Scottish Cross-Country champion Beth Potter, with the Milnathort athlete content to follow Potter’s pace alongside Melissa Courtney.
Muir upped the pace 400m from the finish and proceeded to post 56.9 seconds over the final two laps to come home in eight minutes 48.03 seconds.
Courtney followed in 8:56.01 while Amy Eloise Neale overhauled Potter for individual bronze.
Muir added: “I knew Melissa had run a fantastic time over 3,000m in Germany recently so I wanted to go out and get good time.
“I wanted to tuck in and run that last 400m sub-60 seconds. I’m training really hard – it’s not really a secret, training in South Africa away from the ice and snow helped.
“I’d like to do the double (1,500m and 3,000m) in Glasgow as it’s a home championship and a home stadium.”
Muir’s Dundee Hawkhill colleague Eilish McColgan was sidelined from the event by illness and will, if recovered, look to next weekend’s Muller Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix to stake her claim for a place in Glasgow.
Meanwhile Scot Jemma Reekie (Kilbarchan) ran a devastating final 200m yesterday to secure gold in the 1,500m final.
Reekie, a training partner alongside Muir, took off from the bell to come home in four minutes 17.08 seconds.
Early leader Kerry MacAngus (Kilbarchan junior) finished fourth in a personal best of 4:20.25.
Chris O’Hare (Edinburgh) won the 3,000m in 7:54.33. The Scot battled out the lead with Dunblane athlete Andrew Butchart (Central) before opening a decisive advantage 400m out from the finish. Butchart gave chase but was overhauled by Charlie Grice in the final 20 metres.
In the 1,500m Neil Gourley (Giffnock) timed his finish to perfection to overhaul Elliott Giles 15 metres from the line to clock a winning 3:44.76, while Sol Sweeney (Perth Strathtay) was pipped to third by Piers Copeland (Wimborne).
Inverness athlete Zoey Clark won the 400m final with defending champion Eilidh Doyle (Pitreavie) edged into fourth.
Lynsey Sharp finished fifth in the 800m final, with Sheylana Oskan-Clarke taking the honours. Earlier Cara Anderson (Perth Strathtay) placed fifth in her heat in a personal best 2:12.26.
Stephen Mackenzie (Pitreavie) finished eighth in the long jump.
European indoor sprint champion Asha Philip won the women’s 60m final while Dominic Ashwell (Shaftesbury) finished a surprise winner of the men’s 60m final, with Scot Adam Thomas taking second.
Dwaine Chambers made a return to top-level athletics just short of his 41st birthday.
The former world indoor 60m champion was second in his heat to land a place in the semi-finals, but the comeback stalled when he was disqualified for a false start.