Home nation endurance medal haul completed by Muir 1500m Gold at Commonwealth Games

The final session of athletics in Birmingham saw Scotland’s Laura Muir  win a historic gold over 1500m, Ciara Mageean, from Northern Ireland, shone with the silver medal in the same event while Eilish McColgan and Ben Pattison won 5,000m silver and 800m bronze medals respectively.

Returning to the track just one day on from winning bronze over 800m, pre-race favourite Laura Muir (handicap -3.2) settled at the very back of the pack while the field bumped and barged their way round the opening 800m in 2:15.5, a modest tempo given five of the twelve women in the field hold sub-4-minute bests.

Muir joined the front-runners with 800m to go, before putting the hammer down with 500m left to test the field’s ability to chase her down. There was no let-up from there, with Muir growing the gap back to the rest. The Scot crossed the line in 4:02.75, a hue achievement as no Scottish woman has ever won the Commonwealth title over the distance.

Behind Muir, and having followed the Scot in putting distance between herself and the rest of the field, Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean (handicap -2.4) ran a brilliant race to clinch silver in 4:04.14, a season’s best and well-earned after an outstanding final 400m to hold firm to the line.

Further down the field, there was a 5th finish for Muir’s training partner and fellow Scot Jemma Reekie (handicap -2.7)) in a season’s best of 4:05.33, with Katie Snowden (handicap -2.2)) 7th in 4:07.15, and Wales’ Melissa Courtney-Bryant (handicap -1.8) 10th in 4:10.86.

High-quality endurance action continued straight after the women’s 1500m, with English representatives Ben Pattison (handicap -6.8) and Jamie Webb (handicap -6.7) joined by Scotland’s Guy Learmonth (handicap -6.0) in the men’s 800m final.

Led through 400m by Kenya’s Wyclife Kinyama, and with many eyes on pre-race favourite Peter Bol (Aus), Webb and Pattison made their own charges with 200m left, moving wide in lanes two and three to give themselves the best chance of silverware down the home straight.

As Kinyama surged away to gold ahead of eventual silver medallist Bol, Pattison’s closing speed saw him come in for the bronze to continue a fine year of progression on the senior stage, his time 1:48.25. Webb was just 0.35 further back for fourth in 1:48.60, while Learmonth ran over 1:48.82 for sixth on his third Games appearance for Scotland.

In the women’s 5000m, and reminiscent of the way in which she led the field over the 10,000m earlier this week, Eilish McColgan (handicap -4.3) ensured the race was honest and trying as she did all the early-running.

Offering no let-up, McColgan led the field through 3000m in 8:53 as the field slowly broke into packs, with only Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet and Selah Buisienei opting and able to go with the Scot. A world silver medallist over the distance just weeks ago in Eugene, Chebet shadowed McColgan closer and closer and looked poised to strike with 600m to go, but it was her compatriot Buisienei who made the first move at the bell to go for home.

Chebet had kept something in reserve however, whipping past both Buisienei and McColgan on the back straight to kick for home, opening up a 25m lead coming into the straight to capture gold. Even with 10,000m fatigue in her legs, McColgan gritted her teeth and pushed one final time to move away from Busienei and add 5000m silver to her growing collection of international medals, her time of 14:42.14 a season’s best to conclude an outstanding Games for the 31-year-old.

After a brutally-honest assessment of her own performance in Eugene, Amy-Eloise Markovc (handicap -2.5) did herself proud with a huge personal best of 14:56.60 in fourth, undoubtedly a career-best performance and one that took nearly seven seconds off her previous quickest.

After doing much of the earlier running with the leading pack, Scotland’s Sarah Inglis (handicap -2.5) settled for 7th in 15:08.36, with England’s Calli Thackery handicap (handicap -3.1) crossing over in 15:24.82 to clinch 10th.

In the three places behind Thackery came Roisin Flanagan (handicap -1.2), her time of 15:26.72 a personal best and Northern Ireland record, and Welsh duo Jenny Nesbitt (handicap -1.8) and Beth Kidger (handicap -1.1), their times 15:34.98 and 15:37.47 respectively, the latter a personal best.

Further down the running order, Sarah Astin (handicap -1.2) was 16th in 15:39.54, a time just half of a second off her personal best, with Rachael Franklin (handicap -0.6) 19th in 16:13.23 and Eloise Walker (handicap -1.4) 20th in 16:28.62.

Home Nations Medals

England

Gold: Hannah Cockroft [Women’s T33-34 100m]; Katarina Johnson-Thompson [Women’s Heptathlon]; Nathan Maguire [Men’s T53-54 1500m]; Emmanuel Oyinbo-Coker [Men’s T45-47 100m]; JohnBoy Smith [Men’s T53-54 Marathon]; Nick Miller [Hammer Throw], Men’s 4x100m relay,

Silver: Kare Adenegan [Women’s T33-34 100m]; Lizzie Bird [Women’s 3000m Steeplechase]; Molly Caudery [Women’s Pole Vault]; Adam Hague [Men’s pole vault]; Sophie Hahn [Women’s T37-38 100m]; Keely Hodgkinson [Women’s 800m]; Matthew Hudson-Smith [Men’s 400m]; Zharnel Hughes [Men’s 200m]; Jade Lally [Women’s Discus]; Victoria Ohuruogu [Women’s 400m]; Lawrence Okoye [Men’s Discus]; Eden Rainbow-Cooper [Women’s T53-54 Marathon]; Zac Shaw [Men’s T11-12 100m]; Daniel Sidbury [Men’s T53-54 1500m]; Women’s 4x100m Relay

Bronze: Ola Abidogun [Men’s T45-47 100m]; Fabienne Andre [Women’s T33-34 100m]; Harry Coppell [Men’s pole vault]; Simon Lawson [Men’s T53-54 Marathon]; Scott Lincoln [Men’s Shot Put]; Naomi Metzger [Women’s Triple Jump]; Daryll Neita [Women’s 100m]; Jade O’Dowda [Women’s Heptathlon]; Andrew Pozzi [Men’s 110m Hurdles]; Cindy Sember [100m hurdles]; Jodie Williams [Women’s 400m]

Northern Ireland

Silver: Kate O’Connor [Women’s Heptathlon]; Ciara Mageean [Women’s 1500m]

Scotland

Gold: Eilish McColgan [Women’s 10,000m]

Silver: Sean Frame [Men’s T53-54 Marathon]; Eilish McColgan [Women’s 5000m]

Bronze: Sammi Kinghorn [Women’s T53-54 1500m]; Jake Wightman [Men’s 1500m]; Laura Muir [Women’s 800m]; Women’s 4x400m relay

Wales

Gold: Olivia Breen [Women’s T37-38 100m], Aled Davies [Men’s F42-44 / 61-64 Discus]

Bronze: Harrison Walsh [Men’s F42-44 / 61-64 Discus]

Guernsey

Bronze: Alastair Chalmers [Men’s 400m hurdles]