O’HARE RACES TO RECORD IN MONTE CARLO
● New 1,500m Scottish best in Monaco ● Muir satisfied with third in 3,000m
Middle-distance ace breaks the 38-year-old Scottish 1,500m best at Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
Chris O’hare ended John Robson’s 38-year residency at the head of the Scottish 1,500 metres rankings with the quickest run of his life at last night’s Herculis Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
The 26-year-old ended in seventh place as Kenya’s Elijah Manangoi took victory in the fastest time of 2017, but O’hare – who took the scalp of Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz – crossed the line in 3:33.61 to finally break Robson’s national record that had stood unbroken since 1979, moving him into 11th place on the alltime British list.
As one last run out ahead of next month’s IAAF world championships in London, it was a promising portent. Ditto for Laura Muir, who asserted her readiness with third place in the 3000m.
The 24-year-old, who will accompany O’hare to the Pyrenees tomorrow for an altitude training camp, was left trailing when Kenyan rival Hellen Obiri broke clear but her time 8:30.64 left her in confident mood. “The race was fast,” Muir said. “I’ve done my outdoor personal best so that’s great. In London, I’ll double up in the 1500m and 5000m and now I’ll head back to France to train for London.”
Eilish Mccolgan was fourth in of 8:31.39, shrugging off her recent injuries to slice ten seconds off her lifetime best with Steph Twell 13th.
Lynsey Sharp backed up her claim that her prime form is approaching with sixth place in the 800m, producing her season’s best with a time of 1:58.01 behind South African Caster Semenya while Eilidh Doyle took fourth place in the 400m hurdles in 54.75 secs.
Meanwhile, Usain Bolt took a morale-boosting win in the 100m in his final Diamond League appearance. The Jamaican still has the air of vulnerability but ran 9.95 secs with Britain’s CJ Ujah fourth.
At the European Junior Championships in Grosseto, Holly Mcarthur made it seven personal bests in seven events of the heptathlon to set a Scottish Under-20 record of 5687 points in finishing 11th.
“That was the perfect competition,” said Mcarthur “I wasn’t sure how I’d come with the heat but it definitely helped having such a high standard of competition. It really spurred me on.”
Alisha Rees and Ben Greenwood eased into tonight’s 200m and 800m semi-finals, while Jemma Reekie will take on a double shot at gold this weekend after easing into tomorrow’s 1500m final – with her crack at the 3000m title arriving this evening. “Commonwealth Games would be nice and now I’m thinking could I get the standard?” the 19-year-old, who trains with Muir, said. “It’ll need a few more seconds off my PB but I’ll be giving it a shot.” Meanwhile, Kadeena Cox struck golf for the UK at the world para athletics championships last night with victory in the T38 400m final.
T53 200m gold medallist Sammi Kinghorn will bid to add to her two medals tomorrow on the final day of action with a double tilt in the 100m and 800m.