Muir stuns world-class 800m field as Kenyan Faith Kipyegon wins thrilling 1500m battle with Sifan Hassan and Lizzie Bird sets British steeplechase record as female endurance athletes excel on the French Riviera

A few days after withdrawing from the Olympic 800m to fully focus on the 1500m, Laura Muir was left to ponder if that really was the right decision as she smashed the Scottish record by nearly a second at the Diamond League in Monaco on Friday (July 9).

Her 1:56.73 took over a second and a half off her previous best of 1:58.42 and the time moved her to second in the all-time UK rankings behind Olympic champion Kelly Holmes’ 1:56.21 while her training partner Jemma Reekie went third all-time with a highly encouraging 1:56.96 to move Kirsty Wade’s 1:57.51 back to fourth. The previous Scottish record was Lynsey Sharp’s 1:57.69.

Muir was only third in a more tactical British trials and was well back in seventh in Monaco as Sahily Diago Mesa ran a ridiculously quick 54.80 opening lap with no one within a second of her.

The Scot moved up to fourth at 600m as Jamaican Natoya Goule kicked on to lead in an exciting 85.97. Muir was still fourth with 50 metres to go and slightly boxed, she had to move back and then sideways and go around Reekie in lane three which must have cost her half a second.

Goule, who led until the last 30 metres, paid for her bold move and fast pace which ultimately benefitted Muir’s 1500m endurance and finished fourth in 1:57.35.

Another expected Olympic contender Habitam Alemu finished fifth in 1:57.71 while such was the quality world champion Halimah Nakaayi ran an Ugandan record 1:58.03 but only finished seventh while Cuban Rose Mary Almanza, who had run 1:56.28 this summer, could only finish last in 1:58.51.

Muir said: “I just thought ‘just run as fast as you can! This is Monaco, I know I am in great shape’. This is my last race before Tokyo, so I just wanted to give it my best and put on paper the sort of shape that I know I am in and I am just so happy with that.

“Running 1:56 is giving me huge confidence for Tokyo. I will only be running the 1500m now, I decided that only a couple of days ago, but yes, I couldn’t have asked for a better performance today.

“Having a training partner like Jemma is huge and has made me a much faster 800m runner. We push each other so much and we’ve both run 1:56, so I have definitely become faster because of her.

“I am going to go home tomorrow, have a week at home before flying out to Tokyo and just train as hard as I can, so I am in even better shape in Tokyo. I want to win a medal, that is all I am focusing on.”

The top five on the UK women's 800m all-time list has changed quite a bit in the past few weeks.

?? Kelly Holmes 1:56.21
?? Laura Muir 1:56.73
?? Jemma Reekie 1:56.96
?? Kirsty Wade 1:57.42
?? Keely Hodgkinson 1:57.51

? Andy Young/@scotathletics https://t.co/s3cQcVI7rh pic.twitter.com/Kqm8ypAQba

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) July 9, 2021

Despite Muir’s stunning run catching the eyes of the Tokyo 1500m contenders, it won’t be enough to make anywhere near the favourite’s role after what happened in the actual metric mile.

The word was world champion Sifan Hassan was having second thoughts of tackling this event in Tokyo rather than (or as well as!) the 5000m and 10,000m after her earlier 3:53.63 this season. She may have well changed her mind despite a top-class 3:53.60.

Chanelle Price ran a fast 61.41 opened followed by a 62.14 to take the leaders through in an exciting 2:03.55.
Hassan then took over and was through 1200m in 3:06.40 (62.85 for that lap) but she could not shake off the Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon who shot past on the crown of the bend and left her Dutch rival well in arrears and she ran a sub 60 second last circuit but was inside 44.60 for the last 300m.

Her time was a world lead, a Kenyan record and the fourth best all-time of 3:51.07. Freweyni Hailu who was with the leading two late into the race finished third in 3:56.28.

A delighted Kipyegon said: “I thought I could run faster than that. I knew Sifan was going for a fast race and thank God that was what I did.

“I am really looking forward to Tokyo and I know it will be a very hard competition but I hope to go there and defend my title. I have a lot of pressure because the 1500m is a tactical race. Now I will train hard and hope to do my best at the Games.”

While Muir went second all-time on the UK rankings, there was a British record in the final track race of the evening – the steeplechase – though it got scant coverage as it came behind the exciting battle for victory.

Barbara Parker’s nine-year-old 9:24.04 was eclipsed by just over a second by British champion Elizabeth Bird’s 9:22.80 which saw her finish seventh in a high-quality race.

The 2015 world champion and Kenyan trials winner Hyvin Jepkemoi looked like she made her big effort on the penultimate lap and looked vulnerable on the last lap as former world champion Emma Coburn closed menacingly on the final bend.

But the American fell at the final water jump and the Kenyan won in a season’s best 9:03.82 while world record-holder and world champion Beatrice Chepkoech, still looking short of her 2019 form, also set a season’s best of 9:04.94 and got the better of world leader Winfred Yavi (9:05.45) in third.

A wet and tired Coburn got up to finish fourth in 9:09.02.

The winner admitted her confusion: “The race was not easy because it was almost all of us who are going to the Olympics, I think it was the strongest race, but I won so that’s what matters. There was some confusion because you saw I was starting to go very fast because I saw one lap remaining and after that I heard the bell again, so that confused me, but I still won, so I am very happy.”

The feeling when you set a new British record in the steeplechase.

What a moment for @lizziebird94 ? https://t.co/cFnjDwVPKB pic.twitter.com/p3pyJYb3ve

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) July 9, 2021

The women’s 200m did not see the same quality in time as the middle distance races as Olympic 400m champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo came from well back to win in 22.23/0.7 and catch Marie-Josée Ta Lou (22.25) with her final stride.

Multiple world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who had run a PB 21.79 this season, disappointed as she faded badly with a 22.48 in third.

Tamara Clark, who ran 21.98 in the US Trials, only ran 22.95 in sixth.

The Bahamian winner said: “We are focusing on the 200m at the minute and I want something new. We are getting the races in so we can get back in the best possible shape before Tokyo. The girls out there are running great times at the minute but there is nothing I love more than great competition.”

World indoor record-holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela jumped a 15.12/0.0 to easily be the best in the early rounds in the triple jump. She achieved a huge jump in the final round, probably in excess of the world record, but it was a clear foul and meant Shanieka Ricketts, who jumped a 14.75/0.4 opening round, won the contest with a 14.37/0.1 final round effort to give opponents of the system further ammunition. Patricia Mamoma, who jumped 14.66m in the fifth round, also fouled her last round effort.

Rojas said: “I am happy and at the same time a bit disappointed with the last two fouls I did today that were very big jumps but that is the way competition is. I thought the last was a big jump and that I probably had achieved a world record but it was foul so now let’s go back to work ahead of Tokyo and that was my last competition before the Games.”

The women’s javelin was also won by someone who also did not achieve the longest distance. Maria Andrejczyk achieved an opening throw of 63.63m but only 58.01m in the sixth round and victory went to world record-holder and the 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion Barbora Spotakova who saved her best for a last, a season’s best of 63.08m. Christin Hussong – 61.65m in the second round and 57.73m in the final round, finished third.

The Czech stated: “I knew I was in the top three after the fourth round, then I saved my fifth throw to gather energy for the final throw and it was worth it. I was lucky, and I am very happy about it.

“Everything is coming along ahead of the Games, it’s getting better every day. I had a rough start to the season and it’s all about managing energy well now.”

In the pole vault world leader Katie Nageotte bounced back from a third-time clearance at 4.80m with a first time leap of 4.90m to win easily from world champion Anzhelika Sidorova’s 4.80m which was matched by Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi.

UK record-holder Holly Bradshaw cleared 4.70m with her second attempt and finished fourth.

The American said: “It felt good. I was a bit flat but it’s good to jump 4,90m even without feeling really great.”

The Wanda Diamond League now moves on to Gateshead on Tuesday.