British

The Rise of Laura Muir

18 February 2019

By Joseph

Laura Muir is a 25-year-old Scot who likes to run, and she’s a force of nature.

Muir specialises in long-distance disciplines as the 2018 European Champion in 1500m and the 2017 European indoor champion winning both the 1500m and 3000m races. On Saturday she broke the 31-year-old British record for a women’s indoor mile to record the third fastest time in history posting four minutes 18.75 seconds. She finished seventh in the 2016 Rio Olympics before recovering the beat the Olympic Champion in the 2016 Diamond League in Paris just 11 days later. Since then, she has accumulated an impressive set of medals, personal bests and national records.

Athlete and animal lover

Notice I opened by saying that she ‘likes’ to run? Athletics was never meant to be a career for Muir. She’s an animal lover at heart and in June last year graduated from her veterinary studies degree at the University of Glasgow. She would juggle her demanding degree course with her meteoric rise on the track. Underpinning it all was a gritty determination, meticulous planning and a burning ambition.

Her track coach Andy Young – who had ran the Athletics setup at Glasgow University – knew where her priorities lay: “The vet stuff was the most important thing to her and I had to sell the athletics dream”. Undeterred, Laura realised she didn’t have to choose one dream to pursue over the other and is now experiencing the unique rewards of both.

It would have been easy to lampoon Muir for taking on so much; easy to see her as naive. But, if there’s one lesson to be taken away from the remarkable rise of Laura Muir it is to think big, and then think even bigger!

Like this article? Please share!

  •
    Sport The Unstoppable Force of Max Verstappen
    For years, seven-time world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton’s name has been the name everyone has known when it comes to motorsports, whether they are a fan of Formula 1 or not, but in recent years, a new one has surfaced: Max Verstappen. Hailing from the Netherlands, Verstappen has broken countless records and ruthlessly dominated the […]
    Read Full Article
  • Editorials An Interview With a British Cheerleader
    The first thing that comes to mind for many people at the mention of cheerleading is the beautiful, popular, mean girls in exaggerated American high school films, clad in skimpy outfits and armed with pom-poms, who reign over the school alongside their American football star boyfriends, muscular, cocky guys, almost always named Chad, Chase or […]
    Read Full Article
  • Lifestyle Top Things To Do In Summer
    With school almost over, the anticipation for the summer holidays is high. But when they flash by, there’s that feeling of regret in September when you think: Did I really do anything? Almost always, you’ll be disappointed by your lack of productivity, but this list includes fun activities and ideas Penpal This may sound boring, […]
    Read Full Article
  • Editorials Dealing with Wanting to Drop Out
    University can be one of the most challenging times in an individual’s life. Suddenly, you’re all away from home and the friends and family you love with a bunch of people who are so utterly different from you. You might not like your course, your ‘friends’ or the city you’re in. And suddenly you find […]
    Read Full Article
  • Books Book Review: Things a Bright Girl Can Do
    1914. The world stands on the edge of change. But women still have no vote. Evelyn is rich and clever, but she isn’t allowed to go to university. Life is set out for her, but Evelyn wants freedom and choice, even if it means paying the highest price alongside her fellow Suffragettes. Meanwhile, May campaigns […]
    Read Full Article
  • Editorials Sexism and Football – It Is Still A Problem
    England’s Women’s football team succeeded where the men had failed for fifty-six years. They took home a major international trophy at the Euros 2022 tournament. There has been widespread praise for the Lionesses, but it has also opened up a conversation about the inequality and double standards for male and female footballers. The pay gap […]
    Read Full Article