Great Britian’s Laura Muir says her ‘insane’ quest for three golds drove her to victory

As she crossed the line in Munich to successfully defend her European 1500m title, Laura Muir dealt a series of hard slaps to the top of her head. Whatever her frustrations may have been, those blows were the closest she has come to taking a beating of any kind in the past fortnight.

With this gold medal, coming 12 days after the one she won at the Commonwealth Games, Muir added further shine to a summer in which she also added world bronze to the silver she claimed at the Tokyo Olympics. Truly, Muir is amassing a special body of work.

This victory offered no surprises beyond the bravery of Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean who, as in the Commonwealth final, was the sole respondent to Muir’s breakaway at the bell and pushed the Scot hard. As with that race in Birmingham, Mageean was again burnt off on the final bend, this time managing a smile as the inevitable played out for the heavy favourite.

The track and field star rounded off a successful summer with yet another gold medal

Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui, fifth at the worlds last month, took bronze, more than two seconds down on the champion, who crossed in 4:01.08. Muir collapsed in an exhausted heap at the end of it all, which is no great wonder in consideration of this unprecedented summer of major competition. Indeed, she joined Sally Gunnell, Denise Lewis and Paula Radcliffe as the only British woman in the past 50 years to win both European and Commonwealth gold in the same year, and stands alone for doing so in the same season as taking a global medal.

Granted, the 1500m, which is so brutally competitive at world level, does not run so deep when you strip away the best of Africa. But there is no disputing this has been a remarkable period for Muir, whose year started with a two-month period when she couldn’t run because of a stress injury in her femur. To think, there were serious doubts as recently as February about whether she could be competitive, but under the eye of her coach Andy Young, she smashed all expectations.

‘It looked hard on paper to do three championships in summer but in person I can say never again,’ Muir said. ‘It was a unique chance but it was insane and I wanted to give it a go.

Muir faced challenge from Ireland’s Ciara Mageean – but held on to secure victory

The 29-year-old poses with her gold medal won at Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games

‘I said I wanted a medal at all three but two golds I am so happy. This was the hardest of the three. In some ways it was the easiest because it was only two rounds but it was so tough mentally. It was the most difficult race I have run.’

A short while later, Zharnel Hughes, who won 100m silver earlier in the week, took 200m gold in 20.07sec ahead of his second-placed team-mate Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake. Another Brit of considerable promise, Charlie Dobson, 22, led going into the final 40m but faded to fourth.

There has been a strong resurgence from Hughes, whose succession of false starts led to a claim earlier this year by legend Michael Johnson that he was effectively a waste of an invitation to big meets. His vindication comes from a summer in which he also took Commonwealth silver.

Her Munich win adds to an Olympic silver, world bronze and Commonwealth gold this season

Hughes said: ‘What a way to end my individual races. I have the relay but this was it for me individually and I am very grateful. I am so happy.’

Keely Hodgkinson, who is pushing for her first major gold medal after silvers at Olympic, world and Commonwealth level, qualified comfortably for Saturday’s 800m final in 2:00.67.

She said: ‘It’s going to be a tough race in the final. I never count anyone out, but I know what I am capable of.’

Lawrence Okoye, who once took a seven-year break from athletics to play American football in the NFL, took bronze for Britain in the discus.

Zharnel Hughes took 200m gold in 20.07sec after winning 100m silver earlier in the week