by Stuart Weir
This is the second story on the 2025 British Indoor Athletics Championships, which were also the Trials for the European Indoors and World Indoors. The story was written by our senior European writer, Stuart Weir.
Distance races
The distance races (1500 and 3000 meters) were the highlights of day 2 of the Microplus British Indoor Athletics Championships. There were outstanding performances, close finishes, and a shock or two.
In the women’s 1500 semifinals, the two heat winners, Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Hunter-Bell and Reeve Walcot-Nolan, looked impressive. The final was the predictable battle of the double-barrelled surnames, with Hunter-Bell winning in 4:13.23.
Neil Gourley lived up to his billing as favorite, winning the men’s 1500 in a Championship record of 3:38.84.
He said: Qualification was today’s goal; the record was a bonus. The pace was fast. No heat yesterday didn’t matter, although it made it tricky today with many starters. I had to be careful, but thankfully, no one went down. The competition environment is valuable as part of my preparation as it is good practice for championship racing. Hopefully, it will prepare me well for that first European round”.
Laura Muir looked in control of the women’s 3000m, but Hannah Nuttall passed her on the final straight, winning in 8:49.49 to 8:50.16. Nuttall said: “I am super happy today as I knew I was in good shape to do well. I wanted to stay in the mix over those first few laps. I watched everyone’s moves and ensured I wasn’t too far away, wishing to remain relaxed while keeping out of trouble.
I am looking forward to going to the Euros to race again”.
Muir commented: “It was my first race since the Olympic Games, the longest gap I have ever had in my career. It was nice to get back into a competitive environment before the outdoors. I wanted to stay up front and judge my effort levels; I was aware Hannah [Nuttall] was there, but it’s my first race for a while, so I couldn’t quite hold her off; she is running well. I knew I just needed the top two, and I secured that. The Tokyo World Champs is my main focus of the year”.
George Mills won the men’s 3000m in a Championship record 7:40.16, only just holding off the reigning champion, James West. Mills commented: “Today was about winning first to secure Euros and Worlds place. I came off a week of heavy training, so my legs weren’t fully fresh because I needed to peak at the Champs. I will go to the Euros and World Indoors to be competitive; I always race to get the medals”.
