BOX-OFFICE
Friendship is on hold as Muir and Reekie go for 1,000m world record in Monaco thriller
BOTH will be going flat-out for victory. One of them may well break the world record.
When people talk about the world-class rivalry between Laura Muir and Jemma Reekie, there’s a reason why they reach for some pretty impressive comparisons.
Like Sebastian Coe v Steve Ovett, only without the enmity that drove those two great men to break themselves in pursuit of glory? Not the worst analogy.
Ahead of tonight’s Diamond League head-to-head in Monaco, the close pals and training partners have been passing time sitting on their hotel balcony and ranking the yachts in order of desirability.
Minor disagreements over whether a helipad is a necessity on a floating palace is, it seems, about as heated as things ever get between the Scottish pair.
When they hit the track, though, it’s all kinds of on. Andy Young, coach to both established superstar Muir and rising phenomenon Reekie, can testify to that.
Genuinely unable to call a winner in tonight’s 1,000 metres outing, he told Sportsmail: ‘They are box-office now, definitely. Put them in the same race, you’ve already got a world-class field.
‘That small event in Trieste a couple of weeks ago, when they signed up there were, I think, only three internationals involved.
‘Then everyone else jumped on board — and it became one of the strongest fields of the year. Tomorrow could be another great battle, as it was in Trieste.’
Reekie beat Muir by ‘the thickness of a vest’, to use Young’s turn of phrase, in that thrilling 800m just under a fortnight ago — a big moment for the younger athlete.
Muir also had to settle for second as her training partner broke the British indoor 800m record in Glasgow at the Emirates Arena in February.
So tonight’s outing at the Herculis Meet, one of the most prestigious on the calendar in any season, already looks intriguing.
‘While Laura wasn’t fully fit when they ran indoors, they’re both fit now,’ said Young. ‘So it’s hard to predict who will win. Jemma beat Laura by two hundredths of a second last time — the thickness of a vest.
‘I’ve seen the comparisons. I don’t think Seb Coe and Steve Ovett actually hated each other, as some said. They just weren’t best pals. But it’s a bit different with this pair being best friends. Even though they’re genuine rivals on the track. It’s exciting to get two athletes who can both go up and down the distances, switching between 800 and 1500, and compete well in both.
‘This year is the first year Jemma has beaten Laura in a race. And that last one was very, very close.’
Asked if the two are keeping score, Young replied: ‘I don’t know. So far they’ve mainly been sitting out on their balcony rating the yachts! I suppose we know the score for the outdoor season so far — Jemma’s ahead by two hundredths of a second.
‘But, in all seriousness, they will have eight or nine races coming up in the next few months. Sometimes one will be one doing 800 and then they swap over. But they will race. And it’s quite exciting. It’s a very good field for tomorrow. Laura and Jemma are obviously going great.
‘You’ve then got the Olympic 1500m champion (Faith Kipyegon of Kenya), as well as one and two from last year’s World Championships over 800.
‘I think the world record is a possibility. If everything went right, someone in the field — including one of my two — could break it. Or at least run it close.
‘I suggested that to the meet organiser a while ago, that maybe they could put on a bit of a record attempt. So there will be a pace maker, Shelayna Oskan-Clarke, and she does a good job.
‘The conditions are lovely. So we could see it going close to the record (set at 2.28.98 by Russian double Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova in 1996).
‘But objective number one has to be trying to win the race. Laura and Jemma have to race each other. But also the Olympic champion and last year’s world champion.’
Monaco has been good for Muir down the years, the 27-year-old pointing out: ‘I broke four minutes the first time in 2015 over 1500m, ran 8.30 over 3,000m in 2017, which was an outdoor personal best at the time, and then ran my 800m PB there last year.
‘So three times, three bests, in three different distances. And this year, it’s another different distance so hopefully it’ll be another PB.’
Eilish McColgan competes in a stacked 5k, while Jake Wightman goes in the 1500m — looking for a first Diamond League victory since his 2017 breakthrough.
• Tonight’s Diamond League action — including appearances from Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Adam Gemili in front of a 5,000-strong crowd — is being broadcast from 7pm on BBC iPlayer, Red Button and the BBC Sport website.