Olympic medalist Laura Muir eyes Maria Mutola’s world indoor 1000m record

Olympic 1500m silver medalist Laura Muir will participate in the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final on February 25 at the Utilita Arena as part of the 2023 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series with her sights set on Maria Mutola's indoor 1000m record.

Maria Mutola, the 800m Olympic winner in Sydney 2000, who ran 2:30.94 in Stockholm in 1999, owns the world record. Muir is aiming to break her record further in her career. The two-time indoor world medalist has seen great success in the city. At the 2017 Birmingham indoor competition, she ran for the second-fastest 1000-meter time in history. She beat Kelly Holmes' previous record with a time of 2:31.93, which became a British record.

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Laura Muir eyes World Indoor Tour at Birmingham

After winning 1500-meter gold and 800-meter bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Laura Muir will be making her first return appearance in front of a Birmingham audience. She won the global 1500m bronze in Oregon in July, and about Birmingham, she said,

"I have so many special memories from competing in Birmingham, so I am so very pleased to be coming back to race at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final and targeting Maria Mutola’s world record."

In July 2016, Laura Muir first shattered the British record by over 1500 meters. She established the present record in 2021 at the Olympics in Tokyo, placing her among the top 15 athletes in history. She established a British record for the indoor 5000 meters in 2017 in addition to shattering the European indoor marks for the 1000 and 3000 meters.

In 2020, she added a 1000-meter British mark, and the following year, she also broke the 800-meter Scottish record. She is among the top 20 all-time in the world for the mile run, according to her best time. Additionally, Laura Muir has won the 1500m Diamond League twice.

Laura further added:

"I have had a good history in over the years, and the British record in 2017 was a significant highlight in my career to date, so I look forward to seeing what I can lay down on the track next February."

The World Indoor Tour in Birmingham is the final of the seven competitions that will comprise the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold series in 2023. The season kicks off on January 27 in Karlsruhe, Germany, with stops in Boston, Torun, New York, Lievin, Madrid, and finally Birmingham. When asked about the tour, Muir reacted by saying,

“I always look forward to racing indoors in the UK, and it kicks off a big year for the sport. It is fantastic that the UK is hosting the World Indoor Tour Series Final, and it is great that all the athletes will get to compete in a brilliant atmosphere as there is nothing quite like a British crowd.”

Jake Wightman and Sandi Morris have already been named for the Millrose Games in New York, while Mondo Duplantis and Jakob Ingebrigtsen have been named for the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Lievin. Keely Hodgkinson and Jake Wightman have already been named for the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final.