European Indoor Championships: Laura Muir wins 1500m gold for fifth indoor title

Laura Muir won a record fifth European Indoor Championships title when she claimed a commanding victory in the women’s 1500m final in Istanbul.

Muir shot clean on the last lap in four minutes and 03:40 to become the most successful Briton in the history of the competition.

Romania’s Claudia Bobocea was second in 4:03.76 and Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui completed the podium at the Atakoy Arena.

GB’s Reece Prescod and Jeremiah Azu finished outside the men’s 60m medals.

Samuele Ceccarelli won the title in 6.48 seconds, beating reigning Olympic and world 100m champion Marcell Jacobs in an Italy double.

Muir is the British athlete with most European indoor titles, ahead of former sprinters Colin Jackson and Jason Gardener.

Having completed the 1,500m and 3,000m doubles events in her previous two appearances in 2017 and 2019, the Scot decided to focus on the shorter distance in Istanbul and went into the final as the clear favorite.

The Olympic silver medalist lived up to that bill, starting at the back of the field as Bobocea set a fast pace, then patiently worked her way through before breaking clear on the final lap.

“I didn’t really know what to expect and all my racing plans went out the window when things got going so quickly,” Muir told BBC Sport.

“Ultimately you have to be adaptable on the 1500 m and in the end it worked. I’m in a place now where I have experience and can handle different things. i’m just so happy

“Going into this championship I was quite nervous because I didn’t think I was at my best but I hoped with courage and determination that I could still come here and win. As you get older, you appreciate those opportunities.”

Teammate Katie Snowden failed to push for the 1500m podium, finishing fifth in 4:07.68 while Ellie Baker was eleventh.

It’s been an encouraging winter for Muir, who recorded victories at the Wanamaker Mile in New York and the World Indoor Tour 1,000m final in Birmingham as she looks to improve on last summer’s world bronze later this year in Budapest.

British long-distance running legend Paula Radcliffe said: “It’s really special for a number of reasons, the first being that she said herself that she’s not 100%.

“She bluffed a bit, she risked having enough head start when she started tying. She relied on her instincts. All of these things make them the complete package.”

Muir’s success took GB’s medal tally to fourth in Istanbul, followed by men’s 1500m silver for Neil Gourley and bronzes for Daryll Neita (60m) and Melissa Courtney-Bryant (3,000m) on Friday.

Prescod arrived in Istanbul that year as the fastest man in Europe, qualifying for the final third fastest behind Italian duo Ceccarelli and Jacobs.

Despite a promising indoor season in which he ran a personal best of 6.49s last month, the British champion failed to make his way into the medal fight after a slow start, finishing eighth with team-mate Azu sixth.

Sweden’s Henrik Larsson took bronze in an event where GB had won gold in 10 of their last 16 finals.

“In the 60m, if you miss your start, you miss the start. That’s what happens when it’s world class. Unfortunately, we didn’t get our steps right and that’s what happened,” Prescod said.

“We’re going to be a bit upset, but ultimately we’ve had a good run this year. We have to go away and work even harder. Of course I’m disappointed and a little angry, but that’s part of athletics.”

Britain’s two-time European Indoor Champion Richard Kilty said: “Reece is a great talent and we always want to see him win medals, which is what he’s capable of, but [he’s] had to work on his mentality in big finals.

“He certainly could have won a medal if he had focused on his own race. The time he ran in the semifinals would have won a medal. At one point he reacted negatively to what was going on around him. “

Defending champion Keely Hodgkinson left nothing to chance and reached the 800m final with a dominant peak performance.

The Olympic and world silver medalist, who turned 21 on Friday, cleaned in her semi-final before conceding in the closing stages to win in 2:00.05.

British teammate Issy Boffey was unable to join her, but Guy Learmonth, competing in his fifth European Indoors, qualified for the final of the men’s event.

Britain’s team captain Jazmin Sawyers will be looking to extend her European outdoor long jump bronze after needing just one jump to qualify for Sunday’s final.

“I don’t usually do qualifiers in one jump, so it feels pretty good,” Sawyers said.

“I should do that more often. I know I’m in good shape. If I can open like that in round one, it’s encouraging for the final.”

Jack Rowe and James West both made it safely into the men’s 3.00m final, while David King advanced in the men’s 60m hurdles.

Turkey’s Tugba Danismaz won emotional gold as the host nation clinched their first medal of the championship – and only their third in history – in the women’s triple jump.

More than 50,000 people have died after severe earthquakes on February 6 in Turkey and Syria.

Danismaz entered the competition with a season best of 14.13m, but built on that with a 14.31m jump in the first loop, which was enough to win.

“I don’t know what to say, I’m so happy,” said Danismaz, 23.

“As you know we are going through a very difficult time and when people are happy and healing their wounds because of my medal, I am so happy. If I made her smile, that’s very good.”

Otherwise, there were no surprises in the 400m races as 23-year-old Femke Bol of the Netherlands and Norwegian star Karsten Warholm dominated.

Bol, who broke the world indoor record in February, defended her title with a win in 49.85 seconds, while Olympic 400m hurdles champion Warholm claimed his second European indoor title in 45.35 seconds.