Tokyo Olympics 2020: Laura Muir books place in 1500 metres final

Laura Muir produced a controlled performance to book her place in the Olympic final of the women’s 1500 metres.

The Scot finished second behind Sifan Hassan in the second semi-final in Tokyo and will now line up in Friday’s 12-strong final.

Muir’s time was 4min 0.73sec, with the Netherlands’ Hassan winning in 4:00.23.

The first semi-final was much faster and was won by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon, the defending champion, in a time of 3:56.80. Britain’s Katie Snowden was ninth.

The top five from each semi-final go through to the final along with the two fastest losers, who will both come from the first semi.

Muir, the European champion, clutched an ice pack to her neck after the race but was happy with her performance.

“I’m surprised it was that fast but I felt really strong at that pace which is really good,” she said. “I just wanted to keep out of trouble and qualify for the final.

“Everyone always talks about the final but you have to get there first. To make an Olympic final is still a very big achievement and I’m very happy I’m there now and can look forward to Friday.

Laura Muir finishes second behind Netherlands' Sifan Hassan in the 1500m semi-finals in Tokyo. The top five in each semi qualify for the final along with the two fastest losers.

“I saw we were clear at the end so I eased down a bit. I saw the first semi-final was quite quick so the fastest loser spots were going to be tough. I didn’t want to get pipped on the line and wanted to keep out of harm’s way.”

Friday’s 1500m showdown is scheduled for 1.50pm BST and the race will comprise the fastest seven from the first semi and the top five from the second.

Freweyni Gebreezibeher of Ethiopia (3:57.54) was second to Kipyegon in the first race, followed by Canada’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford (3:58.28), Australia’s Jessica Hull (3:58.81) and Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka (3:59.19).

Laura Muir ran a controlled race in the second 1500m semi-final to book her place in Friday's Olympic final. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

Joining the top five in the final are Purrier St. Pierre of the US (4:01.00) and Kristiina Maki of Czech Republic (4:01.23), who qualify as the fastest losers after finishing sixth and seventh in the first semi.

The qualifiers from the second semi behind Hassan and Muir are, Australia’s Linden Hall (4:01.37), Uganda’s Winnie Nanyondo (4:01.64) and Spain’s Marta Perez (4:01.69).

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