Laura Muir has far bigger ambitions than just making the Olympic 1500m final but admits things could hardly be going better so far in Tokyo. 

While Team GB’s athletics squad is seemingly snake-bitten – the likes of major stars Dina Asher-Smith, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Adam Gemili all succumbing to injury – Muir has bucked the trend and made serene progress through the rounds. 

Wednesday evening saw her cruise into the final by finishing second in her semi-final in a time of 4:00.73, behind only Dutch star Sifan Hassan. 

Hassan is going for an unprecedented 1500-5000-10000m treble in Tokyo but the Milnathort flyer stuck with her on the final lap before easing up down the home straight once she knew she had safely qualified.

Friday’s 1500m final now awaits and Muir is a legitimate medal shot as she plots her way through a journey that she hopes ends with a spot on the Olympic podium.

National Lottery support to Team GB’s athletes like Muir is vital. Through playing the National Lottery, players have helped transform the fortunes of TeamGB over the past two decades. 

“Everybody always talks about the final but you’ve got to get there first,” she said. “To make an Olympic final is still a really big achievement and I’m very happy that I’m there now and I can now focus on that final. 

“I saw we were clear at the end so I just eased down a bit but I knew the first semi-final was quite quick, so I knew the fastest loser spots were going to be quite tough.   

“There were a lot of girls still quite close behind me I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get pipped on the line or anything. Everything is going as best as it could have done. 

“I’m keeping my cards close to my chest on what sort of race I want in the final. I’ll talk to you about it after the final!”

Muir is hoping to succeed where her roommate and good friend Jemma Reekie couldn’t 

The pair lived and trained together during lockdown, entering Tokyo in prime condition, but Reekie agonisingly missed out on a medal in the women’s 800m final earlier this week – finishing fourth. 

Muir could only sympathise with her training partner and acknowledges that it will have been a tough result to take. 

“We’re really close and we’re sharing [apartments] and things – she’s gutted but that shows the standard of the athlete that she is,” explained Muir.  

“To come fourth is so difficult but she ran incredibly well and I’m really proud of her.” 

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