Magical Muir breaks British record in Birmingham

Laura Muir broke a 31-year British record en route to victory in the women's indoor mile at the Birmingham Grand Prix.

The Scot crossed the line in 4m18.75s to top Kirsty Wade's previous best by just over five seconds, while also setting the third fastest indoors time in history – behind only Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba and Romania’s Doina Melinte.

"I knew I was in great shape. It was about winning the race, but also about running fast,” she told BBC Sport.

"I'm so chuffed to get the record on home soil. I knew the spilt halfway and knew I was there and thereabouts. The crowd were fantastic."

Elsewhere, pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw was also victorious as she set a season’s best of 4.81m – just one centimetre better than she jumped at the British Championships a week ago.

Greece’s Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou and America’s Katie Nageotte cleared the same distance but Bradshaw took the victory on countback.

With the European Indoor Championships now just two weeks away, several athletes are sweating on their place in the squad – with some places still left.

Lynsey Sharp finished fifth in the women’s 800m, one place ahead of compatriot Mari Smith, while in the men’s 800m Joe Reid finished third.

Eilidh Doyle finished second in the individual 400m behind Jamaica's Stephanie Ann McPherson, while Eilish McColgan was seventh in the women’s 3000m.

Sportsbeat 2019