byStuart WeirSo, Stuart Weir is a man who travels a bit. He writes for @runblogrun at 20 plus events a year. His observations add to the color and appreciation for the events. I truly enjoy going to events with Stuart, as we see so many different things at the meets. His keen, experienced eye, and his level of trust from the athletes allow him to reach out with some of our world’s finest athletes. I give Stuart very few parameters, except, update us on British performances.
So, here is his update on athletes of the British persuasion in Oslo.
Laura Muir, post 800 meters, Bislett, photo by Stuart Weir
Dina Asher-Smith, Bislett Oslo Games, photo by Stuart Weir
Brits in Oslo
There was a good representation of British athletes in Oslo. Disappointingly we were not invited to participate in the snowball throwing, despite the training camp we arranged for all visitors at the World Indoors in Birmingham this year.
Blessing Okagbare, Murielle Ahoure, Dina Asher-Smith, 2018 Bislett Oslo Games, photo by PhotoRun.net
The highlight was Dinah Asher-Smith breaking her own national record in the 100m, running 10.92 – not bad for someone who has run a lot more 200s than 100s at the elite level. Dinah, lovely person with a bubbly personality, said afterwards: “I’m really happy to have run a new British record. I can’t express how over the moon* I am. I’m in good shape. I’ve been working hard. So I was hopeful. When I crossed the line I knew that Murielle had won but when I saw that her time was 10.91 and I knew I was close to her I thought it could be a PR and it was. So I’m really happy”.
Laura Muir, to the best of my knowledge the only qualified vet in the field following her completion of her Veterinary Science degree last month, was fifth in the 800 in 1:59.09. Laura, like all track athletes “would have liked to have been a bit faster” while admitting that it was her second fastest 800m ever and that she was actually only 0.1 outside her target time.
Jereem Richards, Ramil Guiliyev, Adam Gemili, Bislett Oslo, photo by PhotoRun.net
Chris O’Hare won the 1500 meters, admitting that: “It feels good to win”. He has reason to feel that having started the year in great form only to get injured before the World Indoors.
Rosie Clarke (9th), not surprisingly, felt that the 3000SC race was ruined by error in the height of one of the barriers.
Holly Bradshaw (5th pole vault) took a lot of positives from the event, saying: “I am in really good shape and just need to tweak things in my jump. Normally I am fighting injuries and trying to keep my Achilles pain under control, so this is a different position for me because my body is in really good shape and pain free. Having been injured for 4 years and not able to do the circuit I am really happy to be out there jumping”.
Jake Wightman, was disappointed with ninth place, saying: “I don’t feel very sharp at all I need to get racing and it will come. I was hoping for a better run but the pace was so slow from the start that I knew it was going to be a burn at the end. I would have preferred a consistent faster pace”.
Adam Gemili (fourth in the 200) and Anyika Onuora (7th in the 400) pronounced themselves happy with a season’s best at such an early stage of the season as they prepare for the GB trials and seek selection for the European Championships,
Jake Heyward ran a PR for ninth in the 1500m.
*The expression “over the moon” is used in colloquial British English to indicate happiness. It is thought to come from the nursery rhyme: “Heigh diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon”. Another expression with the same meaning used in colloquial English is “Happy as Larry”. The opposite is to be “as sick as a parrot”.
