Running News Daily

Laura Muir breaks the British indoor mile record that has stood for 31 years

Scot Laura Muir smashed Kirsty Wade's 31-year-old British record to win the women's indoor mile in Birmingham.

The 25-year-old finished in four minutes 18.75 seconds, breaking Wade's mark of 4:23.86.

Muir told BBC Sport: "I knew I was in great shape. It was about winning the race, but also about running fast.

"I'm so chuffed to get the record on home soil. I knew the spilt halfway and knew I was there and thereabouts. The crowd were fantastic."

Her time was the third fastest indoors in history, behind Ethiopian great Genzebe Dibaba (4:13.31) and Romania Doina Melinte (4:17.14).

Muir will be hoping to defend her 1500m and 3,000m European indoor titles in Glasgow in March.

Samuel Tefera breaks long standing world indoor 1500m Record in Birmingham, Yomif was second

Samuel Tefera from Ethiopia upstaged compatriot Yomif Kejelcha to break the indoor 1500m record at the IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting in Birmingham England on Saturday Feb 16.  The record has stood for over twenty years.  

Kejelcha, who last week came within 0.01 of the world indoor mile record, had announced his intentions to break the 1500m mark ahead of his race in Birmingham. The pacemakers hit their required target times, taking Kejelcha through 800m in 1:52.70 and 2:49.28 at 1200m.

But Tefera, the world indoor champion at the distance, was tucked right behind Kejelcha and looked ominously comfortable with the pace. The clock ticked through 3:03 as the bell sounded for the final lap and Tefera made his move, kicking past Kejelcha to take the lead.

Tefera charged towards the line and stopped the clock at 3:31.04, taking 0.14 off the previous record set by Hicham El Guerrouj in 1997.

Kejelcha finished second in a personal best of 3:31.58.

Top photo by Mark Shearman 

Müller is extending its partnership with British Athletics until the end of 2021 with a £400m ($512m) investment

The partnership will see the company be title partner for the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham, Müller Anniversary Games, Müller Grand Prix Birmingham and Müller British Athletics Championships, with branding and activation rights for each event.

Müller will continue as Official Supporter of the British Athletics team, and maintain its status as Official Milk, Yogurt, Butter and Milk Drink as sponsor of British Athletics until the end of 2021.

The new partnership will also see Müller sponsor officials at televised events, have an increased presence at World and European team events, and feature across all British Athletics corporate communications.

The company will continue its on-pack promotion which provides new sports equipment for schools across the country, and athletic brand ambassadors will feature across new TV adverts as well as digital and print advertising.

Laura Muir is set for the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham as well as more than 50 global medallists on Saturday

Britain’s Laura Muir will compete in the women’s mile with an eye on Kirsty Wade’s 31-year-old British record of 4:23.86. Following her victory at the SPAR British Athletics Indoor Championships over 3000m and her Scottish indoor record over 800m in Torun, Muir’s race will be one of the highlights of the meet.

Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha’s next race on the track will be greatly anticipated as he will run the 1500m with Hicham El Guerrouj’s 22-year world indoor 1500m record of 3:31.18 under threat.

Among the Olympic champions in action are Rio 2016 double gold medallist Elaine Thompson and Katerina Stefanidi who will feature in highly competitive women’s 60m and women’s pole vault fields respectively.

Furthermore, five 2018 world indoor champions return to the venue including Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera over 1500m, in addition to Kejelcha and Stefanidi, and men’s and women’s long jump champions Juan Miguel Echevarria of Cuba and Serbia’s Ivana Spanovic.

World number two in 2019 following his 6.53 clocking in Berlin two weeks ago, Reece Prescod goes in the men’s 60m, taking on world indoor silver medallist Su Bingtian of China. Newly-crowned British champion Dominic Ashwell and second-place Adam Thomas will have a last chance to chase European Indoor championship qualifying times.

Yomif Kejelcha going after 1500m World Record at the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham

The two-time world indoor 3000m champion won the mile at the recent Millrose Games in 3:48.46, just 0.01 outside Hicham El Guerrouj’s world indoor record set in 1997, six months before Kejelcha was born.

The Ethiopian will be targeting another one of El Guerrouj’s marks in Birmingham: the world indoor 1500m record of 3:31.18. El Guerrouj recorded that time just 10 days before his world indoor mile record, so given that Kejelcha is in near identical form as the Moroccan during his record-breaking run in 1997, the 21-year-old stands a good chance of taking down the mark in the shorter distance.

There will be tough opposition, too, including the three other men who have won 1500m races in this year’s World Indoor Tour: Torun winner and world indoor champion Samuel Tefera, Madrid winner Bethwel Birgen, and Karlsruhe winner Vincent Kibet.

One week after coming within a whisker of the world indoor mile record, Yomif Kejelcha will be one of the biggest focal points of the Muller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham when he lines up for the 1500m at the penultimate IAAF World Indoor Tour meeting of 2019 on Saturday