Towards the end of a night where British athletes accumulated shiny medals on a scale that would have impressed a 70s disco dancer, Laura Muir began to wonder where it might lead. “It’s amazing and it could take over Super Saturday,” she tentatively suggested, before correcting herself. “Well, maybe not quite.” After Muir won gold in the women’s 1500m, Zharnel Hughes and Natheneel Mitchell-Blake celebrated a British 1-2 in the men’s 200m, and Lawrence Okoye won a surprise bronze in the men’s discus, the stage was set for Dina Asher-Smith to round off a fabulous Friday by defending her 200m title.
But her lack of race sharpness told as she had to settle for silver behind Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji. Maybe not quite indeed. “I definitely came here for the gold,” said Asher-Smith, who insisted that her period, which had caused her calves to cramp in Tuesday’s 100m final, had not been a factor. “But sometimes it is what it is.” Still, it was a hell of a ride.
And five medals also represented a hell of a night for Britain. It was no surprise to see Muir kick things off with a dominant performance in the 1500m.
By now everyone knows her playbook, especially in races like this where she is the dominant force. The trouble is, trying to stop it.