Muir double at Euro indoors
Muir, who has already set three European records this year, dominated the race, clocking a championship record of 8min 35.68sec.
Published : Mar 06, 2017 15:35 IST
British runner Laura Muir confirmed her outstanding form this season by clinching 3,000m gold on Sunday for a middle-distance double at the European indoor championships in Belgrade.
Muir, who has already set three European records this year, dominated the race, clocking a championship record of 8min 35.68sec. “I didn't know what my legs would do so I just wanted to hang in there," Muir told BBC Sport .
“I just wanted to do the best I could — I just love running and I dedicate myself to it easily.”
Kenyan-born Yasemin Can of Turkey, who won the 5,000/10,000m double at the European outdoor champs in Amsterdam last year, won silver, with another Briton, Eilish McColgan, claiming bronze. Muir, a veterinary student, broke a 32-year-old championship record when winning the 1,500m on Saturday and her victory over the longer distance meant the 23-year-old Scot sealed just the second double in the disciplines after Poland's Lidia Chojecka in 2007 in Birmingham.
Britain won its fifth gold of the championships when Asha Philip streaked to victory in the 60m in a British record of 7.02sec, ahead of Ukraine's Olesya Povh and Poland's Ewa Swoboda.
"I was not doubting myself," Philip told the BBC . "I knew I had it in me and the confidence took me through the race. When I crossed the line, I could feel the girls on my left and I wasn't sure - the camera came to me and I was like: ‘I don't believe it unless you say my name’.”
Poland finished the championships with eight golds. Sylwester Bednarek took the high jump title with a 2.32m effort, besting Briton Robbie Grabarz and Belarus’ Pavel Seliverstau.
The Poles also took victory in both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays. Spain’s Morocco-born Adel Mechaal won the men's 3,000m in 8min 00.60sec, while Portugal's Nelson Evora retained his triple jump title, his best of 17.20m beating 40-year-old Italian Fabrizio Donato into silver, with European outdoor champion Max Hess of Germany taking bronze.
And Switzerland's Selina Buchel also retained her 800m title (2:00.38), beating Briton Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Iceland’s Anita Hinriksdottir.