No record but Laura is far from being downhearted
Laura Muir fell short in her world-record bid yesterday. But the Glasgow crowd witnessed history in the pole vault at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix.
Muir was about two-and-ahalf seconds short of the indoor world record as she claimed victory in the 1000m to follow training partner Jemma Reekie’s success in the 1500m.
But pole vault sensation Armand ‘Mondo’ Duplantis set a new world best for the second week running – adding a centimetre to his feat to jump 6.18m.
Reekie continued her stunning start to 2020 as she overtook Ethiopian Dawit Seyaum on the home straight to finish in four minutes and 4.07 seconds.
The 21-year-old had already broken three British indoor records this month, and the Scot showed impressive determination and composure to make her move down the inside after fearing she might be boxed in.
“I just had to be patient and hope a gap opened up and it worked out,” said Reekie
“At a few points I had to get my elbows out. That’s middledistance running for you. I am just learning so getting the confidence that I can do that was good.
“I was hoping I was going to beat my own British record. But it’s OK, I will take the win.”
Duplantis, the 20-year-old American-born Swede, savoured his latest achievement.
“It’s the best little split second,” he said. “Everything builds up to that little split second and the freefall was magical.” Muir was aiming to beat the mark of two minutes, 30.94 seconds set by Maria Mutola in 1999. But it was apparent early on that her pacemaker was off target and she came home in 2:33.45.
That was four seconds ahead of the field, but about a secondand-a-half outside her own personal best.
“I knew it was going to be hard,” Muir said. “We set off at a good pace but we lost it a little bit around 600, and it was hard to claw back.
“I gave it the best shot I could.
I would have loved to have run faster but the crowd was fantastic and I really enjoyed it.
“For where I’m at in my training it was really solid and I can build on that.”
There was British success in the 400m as Jessie Knight took 0.64 seconds off her personal best to beat a strong field – all of her rivals had won medals at major championships.
After coming home in 51.57, the 25-year-old Surrey-based primary school teacher said: “That was just amazing. I got a stadium record and from that start list, on paper, I should have been last.
“My coach puts a really strong programme together and it’s paying off because of the amount of over-training I’m doing, and it shows hard work pays off.”
There was also a British triumph in the 60m hurdles as Andrew Pozzi won his fifth race out of five this year to finish in 7.57 seconds.
Katarina Johnson-thomson finished fourth in the long jump with a best of 6.47m, while Britain’s Bethan Partridge was second in the high jump after clearing 1.90m.
Guy Learmonth was just ahead of fellow Scot Josh Kerr in third place in the 800m.
World 100m champion ShellyAnn Fraser-pryce of Jamaica beat indoor sprint champion Murielle Ahoure in the 60m in 7.16, with 17-year-old Briton Amy Hunt in fourth with a season best of 7.36.