PLANNED TO PERFECTION
Record win for Muir in Monaco
LAURA MUIR completed her Olympic countdown in supreme style last night by demolishing the Scottish 800 metres record with victory at the Diamond League leg in Monaco.
It was a stunning show from the 28-year-old, barely 24 hours after she decided to opt out of running the distance in Tokyo in order to throw everything into her quest for gold over 1500m.
With Prince Albert looking on, Muir clocked one minute 56.73 seconds to royally demolish Lynsey Sharp’s existing Scots best to become the second-quickest Brit of all-time.
Fellow Scot Jemma Reekie, who finished second, was also inside Sharp’s old time with a new personal best of 1:56.96.
‘I know I am in great shape,’ said Muir. ‘This is my last race before Tokyo, so I just wanted to give it my best and put on paper the sort of shape that I know I am in — and I am just so happy with that.
‘Running 1:56 is giving me huge confidence for Tokyo. I will only be running the 1500m now, I decided that only a couple of days ago but, yes, I couldn’t have asked for a better performance ahead of Tokyo.’ Reekie, 23, was heading the charge to the line before her training partner swept by.
For a few priceless strides, Muir was blocked behind her before plotting her escape. Had she been given a clear run, the European champion could possibly have claimed yet another of Kelly Holmes’ British records. But last night’s run also bodes well for Reekie, who stared down several of her potential Olympic 800m rivals and saw them blink first. ‘Having a training partner like Jemma is huge,’ added Muir. ‘Jemma has made me a much faster 800m runner. We push each other so much and we’ve both run 1:56, so I have definitely become faster because of her. ‘I am going to go home tomorrow, have a week at home before flying out to Tokyo and just train as hard as I can, so I am in even better shape in Tokyo. I want to win a medal, that is all I am focusing on.’
Timothy Cheriuyot won the men’s 1500m in a personal best of 3:28.28. Two weeks out from the Olympics, Kenya have yet to rule whether the world champion, who came fourth at their trials, will be promoted into their Tokyo team.
It’s a decision that will weigh heavily on the medal chances of Scots pair Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman.