Five days after smashing through the four minute-barrier for 1500m with 3:56.73 in the Rome Diamond League, Laura Muir had the beating of the 800m specialists over two laps of the track at the Meeting de Montreuil, a European Athletics Classic Permit Meeting, on Tuesday (11) night.
In better conditions Muir could have surely challenged the two minute-barrier but unseasonal cool temperatures and persistent rain greeted the competitors at the Stade Jean Delbert in eastern Paris which pegged back the marks across the programme.
Muir powered away from her rivals in the last 150 metres to win 2:00.63, opening up a winning margin of more than one second on Ukraine’s European indoor and outdoor bronze medallist Olha Lyakhova in 2:01.75. France’s Charlotte Pizzo was nearly one second further back in third but she did come away with a lifetime best of 2:02.63.
Muir moved to second on the 2019 European list behind Slovakia’s Gabriela Gajanova with 2:00.58 although the Brit did run more than one second faster indoors with 1:59.50 in Torun.
800m - @lauramuiruns s'impose sur le double tour de piste !
— Meeting de Montreuil (@MeetMontreuil93) June 11, 2019
2'00''63 Laura Muir
2'01''75 Olga Lyakhova
2'02''63 Charlotte Pizzo pic.twitter.com/wCb70V8Sr0
There was a French one-two in the 110m hurdles as Wilhem Belocian edged out Aurel Manga - 13.52 to 13.53 - and Carolle Zahi won the women’s 100m in 11.51 just one day before celebrating her 25th birthday. European indoor pentathlon bronze medallist Solene Ndama improved to 13.14 in the 100m hurdles just ten days before her first heptathlon of the season in Talence.
Elsewhere, Moldova’s Zalina Petrivskaya won the hammer with 71.52m while the international highlights were provided by world and Olympic champion Christian Taylor who defied the uncooperative conditions to win the triple jump with 17.41m and Caster Semenya who won the 2000m in 5:38.19 - just 0.12 shy of Zola Budd’s long-standing South African record.
The next European Athletics Classic Permit Meeting takes place tonight in Bydgoszcz featuring Adam Kszczot, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Michal Haratyk while Ekaterini Stefanidi also competes tonight at the Filothei Women Gala, a European Athletics Special Premium Permit Meeting.