Scot becomes first British athlete in history to win five gold medals at the European Indoor Championships
Laura Muir contemplated the 1500m/3000m double at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul but was focused on winning gold in one of those events.
The decision to race in just the 1500m, similar to the one she took at last year’s European Championships, was well and truly vindicated.
In winning her fifth gold medal at the Euro Indoors, Muir now stands alone at the top of the tree of British athletes who have competed at the championships.
Colin Jackson and Jason Gardener both have four gold medals while Verona Elder has three.
The fact that Muir’s five golds are spread over both the 1500m and 3000m – three and two respectively – highlights her durability and ability to dig deep when it matters.
That was evident once again at the Ataköy Arena.
Laura Muir with her gold (Getty)
Muir, like she has always done, hit the front and upped the pace at around 1200m, establishing a gap that looked tricky to plug.
In the last 100m however, Claudia Bobocea launched a late surge and although she closed up, the Romanian ran out of track to potentially snatch the gold medal from Muir’s grasp. The pair clocked 4:03.40 and 4:03.76 respectively. Bobocea took her career to another level in the process as she achieved a personal best and claimed a first major championships medal.
Muir did enough though and crossed the line with her traditional celebration of raising her right arm in the air.
“This championships means a lot to me and it’s where I won my first international medal,” she told AW. “I knew that doing a double was special but I wanted to get five golds because no one has done that from the British team before. I’m over the moon. I wanted to come here and win and I’m so happy.
“I was keeping a very close eye on the screen. I knew I was in front and although they were gaining I was aware I had that gap. Going over the line, I was thinking I shouldn’t try to faceplate to the ground! I knew I had enough to surge again if I needed to.
Laura Muir and Claudia Bobocea (Getty)
“It’s such an honour to win again and you could tell how much it meant to me. It’s so surreal [to win five gold medals]. It’s a bit of a pinch me moment! Every time it means a lot.
“To be honest we didn’t make any big goals to come here. But I’ve been to the championships before and you appreciate the races when you’re here and you get to perform…
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