Laura Muir coasted to gold in the final of the 1500metres at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday night to add to her bronze in the 800m.
On paper, Muir was a class apart from the rest of the field and kicked at the bell for a solo time trial to the finish.
Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean was the only athlete to go with her and there was a moment where Muir looked in pain, the tiredness of having doubled up in the 800m showing on her face.
But despite the tiredness of a packed schedule and the challenge of Mageean, Muir further kicked down the home straight to take the gold, her first Commonwealth Games title.
It continued her strong summer having won bronze at the 1500m at the World Athletics Championships behind Faith Kipyegon, who opted to forego these Games in Birmingham.
At her home Games in Glasgow, Muir had been edged out of a medal and missed the last Games in the Gold Coast four years ago.
“It’s been eight years of Commonwealths bugging me,” she said. “It’s so nice to get not just one but two. It means a lot. My strength is in my kick so I just had to trust it and hope no one caught me. I ran as hard as I could to the line. This meant a lot to me.”
Training partner Jemma Reekie threatened to win a second medal for Scotland but was outsprinted to finish fifth having failed previously to qualify for the 800m at the Alexander Stadium.
Muir has set her sights on a further major medal at the European Championships in Munich before rounding off her season. She said: “Two down, one to go. I set out this year to run all three and win a medal in all three.”
Muir’s fellow Scot Eilish McColgan recovered from her 10,000m gold earlier in these Games to win silver in the 5,000m and eclipse her mother Liz for a Commonwealth Games best.
McColgan set the pace for much of the race but could not match the pace of Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet.
There looked to have been a golden finale to the athletics for Team England as, in the final of the 4x400m relay, the quartet of Vicky Ohuruogu, Jodie Williams, Ami Pipi and Jessie Knight initially won gold in the last event of the entire athletics programme.
Going on the final leg, Knight was in danger of being beaten by the Canadian four but her lunge for the line was enough to edge a photo finish for the gold. But the quartet were then disqualified because of a lane infringement by Willaims. Team England had pondered an appeal on that ruling but decided against it having seen the footage.
