W 1500m
A WORLD record in the women’s sprint hurdles and Usain Bolt running a 200m denied Laura Muir top billing on the opening night of this Diamond League. But, in Olympic terms, her performance was actually better quality than that of the Jamaican superstar.
Muir did so with a superb piece of front-running of such class that it’s hard to recall any British middle distance athlete — male or female — controlling a field in that manner.
Her reward was a British record as she erased the mark Kelly Holmes set when winning Olympic gold in Athens in 2004.
On this form, Muir has become one of the favourites to secure a medal herself in Brazil, with some of last year’s stars seemingly not at their best.