Thoroughbred with a kick like a mule
the Scot and Kenyan-born Turk Yasemin Can but the fatal blow was quick and brutal. With 300 metres left, Muir unleashed the turn of speed that has regularly been employed to devastating effect this winter and it was game over.
A championship record of 8:35.68 iced the cake. Muir the unbeatable heading a total of ten medals for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Serb capital, including a bronze for Eilish McColgan in the same event and silver for Eilidh Doyle in the 4x400 relay.
The pick of the bunch had the air of Mo Farah in his pomp. “I don’t know about that,” Muir grinned. “I think he can run a bit quicker than me. I just knew that’s where my strengths lie. I knew what Can would likely do being an endurance athlete so I needed to kick as much as I could.”
Like a mule. Except the Glasgow University student is a thoroughbred now hitting her prime with the promise of more trinkets to come at this summer’s world championships in London. This indoor season has delivered two European records and two British marks. Mere bonuses, her coach Andy Young declared.
“I don’t think we’ve reached the limits of how fast she can run,” he said. “Her big thing is medals. These records are lovely but she wants medals and with the world championships in London, and the Olympics in three years, I don’t think we need worry about her taking her foot off the pedal.”
By tomorrow morning, Muir will be reporting for duty at a veterinarians near her home in Milnathort, excellence in one field providing no excuse for slacking off in her other career pursuit. She may get a day off training, Young offered. Perhaps two. But no more. Not with the equally prospect of an equally gruelling double in London in August over 1500 and 5000 metres. “It’s more spaced out which is nice,” she affirmed. “It won’t be quite so compact as what I’ve done the last couple of days. The fact I can run so fast in a short timeframe having even more recovery. We’re still looking at the racing timetable.”
No longer a member of the pack, she can expect to become the event’s shining face, anointed the leader of Generation 2020 that will ease into the vacuum created by the departures of Farah and Jessica Ennis-Hill. “You can’t go winning medals and breaking medals and not go raising expectations. I’ll take it all in my stride. I take it as support not pressure and I’ve shown I can deal with it.”
McColgan too has waited a long time for a place on the podium and coped with a multitude of injuries en route. Barely 12 months removed from a prolonged spell on crutches, the Dundonian timed her surge from the back of the field perfectly, overhauling Maureen Koster of the Netherlands to land her own maiden international gong with fellow Scot Steph Twell satisfied with fifth.
“My mum, my dad, my boyfriend, they are going to go absolutely mental,” she ventured. “I came third but the way I run, it makes them very nervous, My dad will probably be crying because he’s so emotional. I watch this championship from the sofa every year. To be here was a step forward but to medal is great.”
Quite a day for Dundee Hawkhill Harriers, she added, their best since McColgan’s mother Liz was in her pomp. “It’s not bad for a small club from Dundee is it? They love seeing Laura winning medals and breaking records. But that’s the actual track and club I grew up with and they see me down there often. So I think they’ll be pretty chuffed with two medals.”
An untried British quartet signed off at the event – which will be staged next at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena in 2019 – with second place in the 4x400 with Doyle securing a lead on the opening leg but then watching Poland poach gold.
“I was gutted about the individual event but it was nice to come back out and have a chance to run again,” the 30-year-old said. “We didn’t know how it would go because this is a pretty new line-up but we’re delighted to get a medal.”