At one point on Wednesday evening, Laura Muir feared her hopes of a first global medal were about to be swallowed up by an epic snowdrift somewhere outside Carlisle. Yet 24 hours and a £1,500, seven-hour taxi ride later, she was celebrating a superb bronze after a pulsating women’s 3,000m final at the world indoor championships.
No one has ever doubted Muir’s ability or courage. Yet in the final of the 1500m at the 2016 Olympics – and again at the world championships last year – her death or glory approach led some to question whether she was tactically naive.

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Not this time. When the favourite, Genzebe Dibaba, whose controversial coach Jama Aden remains under investigation by athletics’ governing body, the IAAF, shot clear of the field with four laps to go, Muir did not rush to close the gap. Instead she tracked Dibaba and the Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan, an approach that took her desperately close to a silver – a medal that was almost in her grasp until Hassan swerved out from lane one to three on the final bend to stop her passing.
“I knew Dibaba was going to make a big move,” said Muir, who finished in 8min 45.78sec – just 0.73sec behind the Ethiopian and 0.10 behind Hassan. “So it was a matter of not over-exerting myself and falling off a cliff like I did in Rio. I raced smart and came away with a medal, which was the main thing.
“I’ve known the ability is there. It’s just been a matter of trying to judge it tactics-wise. I’ve been fourth, fifth and sixth at world championships and seventh in Rio, so to come away with a bronze here is excellent.”