Dates: Thu 2 – Sun 5 March Venue: Atakoy Arena, Istanbul |
Coverage: Watch live across BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website. Full details. |
Laura Muir aims to keep up her exclusive record of gold medals from the European Indoor Championships when she races in Turkey this week.
The 29-year-old Scot will be a firm favourite over 1500m in Istanbul as she looks to add to her double-gold hauls from 2017 and 2019 (1500m and 3,000m).
Muir skipped the 2021 event to focus on the Olympics, where she claimed silver.
“I’ve only ever won gold at the championships in terms of medals, so I want to add to the tally,” she said.
“It’s always tough at European level, there’s an awful lot of fast athletes out there. Hopefully my best will be good enough.”
The indoor season has started well for Muir, with two victories in the United States, including the prestigious Wanamaker Mile, and a win over 1,000m at the World Tour Final in Birmingham.
This time last year she was recovering from a stress fracture in her femur, but returned to take bronze at the World Championships in July.
Muir then added a Commonwealth Games bronze-gold double (800m and 1500m) before defending her European 1500m title.
“Last year was huge for me, picking up medals at all three championships,” she said. “That was amazing. It just kept the ball rolling after the Olympics and I want to keep it going again this year.
“I’m really happy with where I’m at. I’ve raced a few times this indoor season and won them all.
“I’ve done a few different distances; 3,000m, a mile and 1,000m, so I feel like I’ve tested my speed a bit, tested my endurance a bit.”
Looking further ahead to the summer World Championships in Budapest and the 2024 Paris Olympics, Muir said: “I’ve fulfilled my goal of winning a medal at all six championships, the only step forward is to upgrade some of the colours.
“Paris has been a big focus since the end of last year and it’s going to come round quickly. It’s really exciting to have an Olympics so soon again in my career.”