Muir wins first World Championship outdoor medal

Laura Muir (running handicap of -3.1) brilliantly claimed her first career World Championship medal and the first for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team in Oregon with bronze in the women’s 1500m.

After two fifth places and a fourth previously in the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships (outdoors), Muir would not be denied again as she followed up her Olympic silver from Tokyo last summer with bronze in her fastest time of the year 3:55.28 minutes.

Muir was primed to be the British talking point on day four and delivered in one of the quickest women’s World Championship 1500m finals ever. The tone was set almost immediately with Faith Kipyegon and Gudaf Tsegay hitting the front with Muir joining them as two distinct groups formed.

She stalked the Kenyan and Ethiopian over those first 800m, the trio eventually dropping Tsegay’s teammate Hirut Meshesha who tried to stay with them. Muir kept the pace as Kipyegon and Tsegay kicked at the bell with a first world medal never in doubt.

Kipyegon and Tsegay proved just too much to catch – just over a second and two seconds respectively – as they finished in that order for gold and silver but for Muir nothing could dampen her bronze.

She said: “That is a World Championship final, you have got to expect it to be hard and be quick – the splits on that race were on an extra level. It does show if I can get 3.55 under those kind of splits then there is a really fast time in there.

“I am so delighted. It was all about this [her medal], that was what I wanted. I took my time trying but I am so, so happy I got it. I had the most significant injury of my career this February. I didn’t run for two months. That is the longest time I’ve had off running since starting but I had confidence in myself and my ability that we have time.

“Faith and Tsegay are two of the greatest 1500m runners there has ever been. This time last year I didn’t have any global outdoor medals and now I have two. I am so delighted. This was the one that was bugging me. After I got the silver last year, I was like this is the year I am going to get it and I’ve got it, I am so pleased.”