An agonisingly fast opening lap last night scuppered Laura Muir’s chances of a place in her first world final but did not dent the performance and promise of Scotland’s seven athletes at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow.
Kinross-shire’s Muir, whose heroic home-straight finish in her heat secured her start in the women’s 800m semi-final, could not produce the pace to stay with the world’s leading two lappers, which would have given her electric kick a chance.
But there was delight for GB & NI when Scotland’s Chris O’Hare ran another fabulous men’s 1500m.
He was a surprise semi-finalist now he is a surprise finalist.
Muir, just 20 and a vet student at Glasgow University, has emerged as a quality middle-distance runner.
Ranked around 30 in the world at 1,500m, a distance at which she is the European Under-23 bronze medallist, the Dundee Hawkhill Harrier underwent extra speed training with coach Andy Young after being selected for the 800m in Moscow.
She has neither looked out of place, nor out of her depth here but last night she succumbed to the pace of five times USA national champion Alysia Johnson Montano, who led from gun to tape in a rapidly-accelerating 1:58.92.
Muir finished seventh, just a fraction outside her lifetime’s best, in 2:00.83 excruciatingly the ninth quickest out of the 16 semi-finalists, and just a tenth of a second short of making the final.
“I was hoping I’d get a chance to run sub-two minutes today, but that first lap was just so quick,” said Muir.
“I caught up a little bit on the back straight, but it was too fast for me.
“But I’m really happy with my performance here. I got a personal best I didn’t expect to get through the first round yesterday, so I’m pleased with that.
“It was a little bit tough out there, but I enjoyed it.
“The 800m is a different race, a completely different race that I’m not so experienced with.
“I think this will only be my fifth 800m of the year and two of those were at the European Under-23 trials, so I’m really happy with it.
“I never dreamed of coming to Moscow this year, so it was a huge bonus to get through the first round.”
Britain’s other semi-finalist, Marilyn Okoru, also went out, finishing seventh in her semi in 2:02.26.
Chris O’Hare, from West Linton, qualified for last night’s men’s 1,500m semi as a fastest loser and came up against several world greats in his race, including Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop, the fourth fastest man of all time.
But the 22-year-old, who came through the ranks at Edinburgh AC, became the first Briton for six years to get to the final of a world championship 1,500m by finishing fourth.
Kiprop, the defending champion, duly took the race in 3:43.30, with O’Hare timed at 3:43.58.
“I had to put myself in a better position, not out there for everybody to shoot at,” he said.
“I pretended like I knew what I was doing. In races like this, if these guys know what they’re doing I’ve got to put on a brave face and blag it.
“But it’s fantastic to get into the final.”