Fourth place is often said to be the most agonising finishing position for an athlete and Laura Muir has been there, 0.07sec behind South Africa’s Caster Semenya and outside the medals at the London world championships last summer.
Muir had been hyped up, perhaps unrealistically, as a potential double gold medallist but returned home to Milnathort, a small town in the shadows of Scotland’s Lomond Hills, empty handed. Tears flowed in the immediate aftermath but there was little time to dwell on what might have been. Sick animals awaited treatment in the local veterinary surgery where she regularly completes placements as part of her degree course and soon it was back to training.
Now there is opportunity to win two medals again on home soil at the world indoor championships in Birmingham and her possibilities are better this time. Muir thrives indoors and is fully recovered from the stress fracture which hampered preparations for London. Her performance in the 3,000m on the opening evening of the championships tomorrow night will also set the tone for the 31-strong British team.
“I guess on the first night you want to do well,” Muir said. “I don’t feel too much pressure but hopefully I can put on a show and work the crowd, that would be nice. I’ve raced a lot indoors and done well, I’m in my comfort zone.”
Muir won gold in both the 1500m and 3,000m at the European indoor championships last year but faces stern opposition from Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba, the world record holder in both events. Other British athletes who have ambitions of adding to the medal tally are Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Andrew Pozzi in the 60m hurdles and both Dina Asher‑Smith and CJ Ujah over 60m. There will be no Greg Rutherford, however, who has decided to miss the event as the long-jumper continues to recover from groin and ankle injuries despite winning the British indoor title last weekend.
Laura Muir shows her dejection at just missing a 1500m medal at last year’s world championships in London. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA
Johnson-Thompson stands a better chance of winning gold in the absence of Belgium’s Olympic heptathlon champion Nafi Thiam. The Liverpudlian finished outside of the medals in London but is in good form and is perhaps better suited to the five‑discipline contest, finishing a tantalising 13 points shy of the world record in her most recent pentathlon in 2015.
For Muir, the decision to double up over 1500m and 3,000m took serious consideration, particularly with the demands of 12-hour night shifts and course work towards her veterinary science finals at Glasgow University. She will take just one day off to compete in Birmingham.
“I had to send a few emails saying: ‘I’ve got a big competition coming up, is it OK if I have a couple of days?’ They were fine about it. I’ll be in the small-animal hospital on Wednesday and on Thursday I will be competing in the world championships, so it’s a bit surreal.
“I’m surprised at how well I balance veterinary and track. I knew how tough it was with the long hours on the course and then fitting in training. That’s why I wasn’t definite about doing the double initially. I think I might bring a few notes down with me, I don’t know what time I will have, but certainly I will be wanting to focus on the world indoors and do the best I can.
“The week after indoors I’m with the small-animal hospital next week with the ophthalmologist and also specialist dermatology as well.”
Muir is missing the Commonwealth Games to concentrate on her exams. “I think it has made my preparation slightly more straightforward. We know I’m going to have the world indoors as my main focus and I don’t have to worry about trying to maintain that for the Commonwealths, so afterwards do the training blocks as normal and start my outdoor season later in May.”
From an international perspective the focus will be on Christian Coleman, the American sprinter hailed by many as a potential successor to Usain Bolt after breaking the 20-year-old indoor 60m world record in February.