LAURA Muir and her coach have contradicted comments made by British Athletics performance director Neil Black that the Scot had only “a one per cent” chance of competing in both the 1,500 metres and 5,000m at the World Championships in August.
Muir finished seventh in the shorter distance at last year’s Olympics and booked her spot in London by winning last season’s Diamond League meeting in Paris, while she ran the 5,000m qualifying time when she broke the British indoor record in January.
The 24-year-old’s hopes of doubling up seemed in jeopardy after a scan revealed she had suffered a stress fracture in her foot that forced her to miss two weeks of training earlier this month.
But in response to Black’s remark in the Times, Muir tweeted: “Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. Another hard training session completed on the track tonight!”
Her coach Andy Young admitted Muir would have to be careful in the forthcoming weeks, but told BBC Sport: “She is looking good for the 1500m and 5,000m.
“She has got the qualifying times and is keen to do both. It is still over a month away and we have got to be cautious around the foot.”
Regarding Black’s comment, Young added: “Perhaps he had forgotten she ran one of the fastest times for the 5,000m in the world this year, had the qualifying time and subsequently broke all these records.
“Once he said it, it was out there. There was a bit of panic that she had a bigger problem than it was. But it has not been that big of a deal, she has not been in pain or limping.
“She seems back to normal.”
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