Five-time European champion Laura Muir insisted there were plenty of positives to take from her first-place finish in the 1000m at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow, despite narrowly falling short in her world record attempt.
Ahead of the event, the 26-year-old had signalled her intentions to surpass the 2:30.94 mark set by Maria Mutola in 1999, but finished over two seconds off the pace despite comprehensively beating the rest of the field.
After racing on her home track, Muir explained she was still happy with her performance, while also expressing her support for teammate Jemma Reekie who continued her sparkling form - having broken three British indoor records this month - with victory in the 1500m.
“It was always going to be very tough to beat the record,” Muir said. “It’s stood for over 20 years so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but I gave it the best I could and I’m delighted with the manner in which I got the win.
“It was great fun out there. I love competing in Glasgow and the crowd were fantastic. Racing in front of home support with lots of friends and family watching you is always very special
“Jemma had another great race and I’m really pleased for her. I was a bit nervous for her with a lap to go because she looked a bit boxed in but she dealt with it brilliantly and ran a fantastic race.”
Elsewhere, two-time Olympian Andrew Pozzi won the men’s 60m hurdles in 7.57s, while heptathlon world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson finished fourth in the women’s long jump with a season’s best 6.47m, one place below compatriot Jazmin Sawyers.
Having taken gold in Doha, Johnson-Thompson admitted she has her eyes set on this summer’s Olympic Games, and believes gradually improving her form at events throughout the season is crucial to her hopes of top spot in Japan.
She said: “It’s important to switch out of winter training and utilise all the hard work that I’ve put in now. There are five months until Tokyo so I need to start getting the ball rolling.
“I felt good - especially in the first three rounds - and I was where I expected to be so there are plenty of positives to take into the rest of the campaign.
“It was a great event to be part of in Scotland. The crowd were amazing and I really enjoyed being out there competing.”
Sportsbeat 2020