MUIR’S ON MARK FOR CONQUEST IN ROME

Dundee Hawkhill Harrier Laura Muir will hunt her first-ever conquest of Rome in tonight’s Golden Gala meeting in the Italian capital as the perfect rebound from a rare heavy defeat.

The Olympic silver medallist, coming off finishing 11th in the previous Diamond League stop in Oregon 12 days ago, runs the 1,500m against Ethiopia’s in-form Hirut Meshesha and Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean.

It is set to be the Scot’s penultimate tuneup before this month’s British Championships with a trip to Oslo on the cards next week.

And even as she edges back to full fitness from a hip injury, Muir remains intent on a treble that includes the pursuit of world, European and Commonwealth crowns in quick succession this summer.

She said: “I want to still do all three. And I want to win a medal on all three.

“So whether that 100% comes later on the year, or whether it’s in July, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Her training partner Jemma Reekie squares off against Olympic 800m champion Athing Mu for the first time since she ended three places adrift of the 20-year-old American in Tokyo last August.

Reekie, who beat Muir for victory in Rome two years ago, provided a glimpse of her prime form in finishing second in Chorzow last weekend.

Meanwhile Fifer Beth Dobbin gets another world-class tester in the women’s 200m in taking on Tokyo gold-medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah and world champion Dina Asher-Smith.

And it will be an opportunity for Dobbin to put three weeks of graft at her Loughborough base under the microscope.

“My finish has been missing a bit,” she said.

“Because we’ve been trying to improve my speed this year, which we have.

“But then when you spend too much time on that, then your finish gets a bit neglected.”