Majestic Muir digs deep to bring home European gold
Laura Muir labelled her hardfought European 1,500 metres title defence the ‘hardest race she’s ever run’ after a lightning turn of pace propelled her to a third major medal of the summer in Munich.
The Scottish middle distance star left herself with considerable work to do before hitting the accelerator at the pivotal moment to burst clear of the field and retain the title she won in Berlin four years ago.
Muir, 29, clocked a redhot time of 4:01.08 to finish 1.48s clear of Ireland’s Ciara Mageean - who ran a bold race to seal silver – and Poland's Sofia Ennaoui in front of a bumper crowd at the city’s 1972 Olympic Stadium.
The Inverness-born ace bagged a brilliant bronze at last month’s World Championships in Eugene before following it up with a long-awaited Commonwealth title in Birmingham.
Cramming three major championships into the space of five weeks was never going to be easy and Muir, who also won Commonwealth 800m bronze, admits it almost got the better of her after a gruelling sporting summer.
She said: “It looked hard on paper but actually doing it in person, never again.
“It was an amazing opportunity and a very unique one that we’d ever get three championships in a year, let alone in five weeks in the summer.
“It’s just insane but I said you know what, I’ll give it a go.
“I got a medal at all three and to win the Commonwealths and win here, I’m so happy.
“This was the hardest one – on paper it looked the easiest one event, only two rounds, but it’s the easiest out of the three physically. But it was so tough mentally – the most difficult race I think I’ve ever run.
“It was so hard – credit to all
the other athletes who have done the three events, because it’s so difficult.”
Muir appeared to start sluggishly under the Friday night lights before kicking into gear ahead of the final lap to leave the rest of the field in the rear view mirror.
Mageean bravely attempted to live with Muir’s punishing pace but did not have enough in the locker as the Scot, who also won silver at last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, crossed the line in splendid isolation to prompt emotional scenes.
Muir added: “My coach looked at all the splits and said nobody could match you over 400m, so if you give a good kick and maintain it, then I think you’ve got a good chance.
“Credit goes to him for the tactics – he made a good call there and I had to stick to it as best I could.
“Sometimes the 1500m is
unpredictable and you never know, but it went to plan.”
Away from the Olympic Stadium, canoe sprint star Deborah Kerr, 24, enjoyed a brilliant morning on the Bavarian water after sailing into the finals in both of her events.
The Motherwell speedster joined forces with Emma Russell, Emily Lewis, and Rebeka Simon in the kayak four 500m before combining with Russell in the double to similarly advance to the weekend's medal showdown.
•The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the German city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iplayer, BBC Sport website.
Keely Hodgkinson insists she is not feeling the pressure as she reaches the ‘home straight’ of her hunt for a first major championship gold.
The Olympic silver medallist safely booked her place in tonight’s 800m European medal showdown as a time of 2:00.67 fired her to semi-final victory in Munich.
Hodgkinson, aged 20, followed up her memorable Tokyo exploits with two more silvers at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, but remains without
agoldmedalatmajoroutdoor level.
She says she is happy with her season overall and is relishingtheprospectofattemptingtobreakherduckagainsta star-studdedline-upunderthe Olympic Stadium lights.
Hodgkinson, who will compete in the final alongside Scottish star Jemma Reekie at 7.15pm today, said: “I’d love to be on the top of the podium this year. It’s one of my aims and I was going into every championships to win.
“Unfortunately that hasn’t happened, but I’m happy with my season overall.
“I’ve performed well and am stilloneofthebestintheworld, but it would just be nice to fin
Hodgkinson desperate for maiden major gold medal after reaching 800m final alongside rival Reekie
ishontop.ithinkeveryonecan pose a threat to medal – Lore Hoffman has had a strong last two years and you can never really count anyone out.
“It is going to be a tough race in the final. I never count anyone out, but I know what I am capable of and I’m looking forwardtoit.iwanttohaveaclean race, strike at the right time andhopefullycomeawaywith a nice gold medal.”
It has been a jam-packed summer of athletics and Hodgkinson admits she has been feeling the effects.
She finished second behind American star Athing Mu by just eight hundredths of a second in the Worlds to extend her wait for a maiden outdoor
major championship gold.
Hodgkinson was one of the red-hot favourites to end that pattern in the Commonwealths in Birmingham, but was beaten by Kenyan Mary Moraa.
An athlete who surprisingly
didnotfeatureinthatracewas Kilbarchan star Reekie, who also navigated her way into tonight’s final with a mature performance in the second heat of the day.
Reekie, 24, finished second as she chased home French star Renelle Lamote in a time of 2:00.30.
Reekie, who was unable to qualifyforthecommonwealth final after being crowned British champion in Manchester in June, said: “I got a good positionbuttheniwasshoved, but in my head I was like ‘stay calm, stay calm and get your tactical head on now’. I know I have a good sprint finish, so I just waited until the last 200m and got through.”