Muir digs deep to win record fifth gold at European Indoor Championships

The greatest challenge of sustained sporting excellence is thriving even when things are not going entirely to plan, when the body is not feeling great or when the rest of the competition throws up a surprise. Throughout her storied career, Laura Muir has exemplified those qualities to the fullest, constantly finding a way to perform at a high level regardless of the challenges before her.

She did so again on Saturday, producing a typically gutsy performance to win a fifth European Indoor gold medal over 1500m and further demonstrate the supreme consistency that has marked her as one of Great Britain’s best athletes in recent times.

Having followed through on her status as the firm favourite, Muir is the most decorated British athlete at the European Indoor Championships, breaking her tie of four gold medals with Colin Jackson and Jason Gardener. Muir had previously won two gold medals over 1500m and 3,000m in 2017 and 2019.

“I was quite nervous coming into these champs because I don’t think I’m at my absolute best. But I just hoped that with that grit and that determination, I would still be able to come here and win,” Muir told the BBC.

Muir opened the race by sitting at the back of the pack during an unusually fast opening lap as Romania’s Claudia Mihaela Bobocea pushed the pace. “All of my race plans went out of the window when they went out that fast. I was like ‘Just pick them off, pick them off’. To be fair to Claudia, she ran so well.”

As the pace slowed Muir gradually moved towards, but her first attempt to break away was immediately defended by Bobocea. No matter, she remained calm. “I knew when I went I would be strong enough,” she said.

With 1200 metres to go, just before the final lap, Muir kicked on.