December 26, 2024

Laura Muir wins first Commonwealth title as she adds 1500m gold to 800m bronze

Laura Muir #LauraMuir

Laura Muir stormed to 1500m gold at the Commonwealth Games to collect her second medal in 24 hours.

The Scot decimated the field at the Alexander Stadium to win on the final day of the athletics.

Muir won 800m bronze on Saturday – after an appeal over the photo finish from Jamaica was rejected – to claim her first ever Commonwealth Games medal.

Just a day later she claimed victory in four minutes 02.75 seconds ahead of Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean and Australia’s Abbey Caldwell.

In the morning session, England’s Matt Hudson-Smith lost out on gold as Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga stunned the 400m favourite.

The 27-year-old – on his home track – had to settle for silver as Samukonga made a late break in the final 50m to go from fifth to first.

He ran 44.66 seconds, with British record holder Hudson-Smith crossing the line in 44.81 seconds.

Hudson-Smith was disappointed at missing out on gold (Martin Rickett/PA)

He said: “I made a commitment to go hard in the first 200m. I tired up around the back. You live and you learn. You’ve just got to push on. I still got a silver medal.

“If you asked people a year ago if I would do this (winning Commonwealth and World medals), I would have said no. It is going in the right direction but there is a lot of work to be done. Stoke the fire and got to keep pushing.

“I’ve never heard of him (Samukonga). At least I took a bit out of him.”

Hudson-Smith at least adds to the bronze he won at the World Championships last month in Eugene.

Yet it continues his Commonwealth Games frustration after he was disqualified from the event in 2018 for running out of his lane.

Hudson-Smith will now look to defend the European title he won in 2018 when he runs in Munich later this month.

In the women’s race, Victoria Ohuruogu took silver with England team-mate Jodie Williams clinching bronze behind Barbados’ Sara Williams.

The women’s 4x100m relay squad of Asha Philip, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Bianca Williams and Daryll Neita took silver behind Nigeria.

In the men’s race Jona Efoloko, Zharnel Hughes, Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Ojie Edoburun took gold, defending the title from 2018, in 38.35 seconds ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and Nigeria.

Earlier at the Alexander Stadium, Cindy Sember won bronze in the 100m hurdles with world champion and world record holder Tobi Amusan of Nigeria taking the title in a Games record of 12.30 seconds.

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