Comfortable victory for Muir while Bass-Bittaye shocks 100m field 

Having opened her season with fourth place in Oslo, Great Britain’s Laura Muir moved her Olympic preparations up a gear with a fine runaway 1500m victory. 

The 31-year-old Olympic silver medalist - who won in Stockholm in the 2019 and 2020 events - registered a comfortable 3:57.99 ahead of Kenya’s Edinah Jebitok - who clocked a shock 3:58.88 personal best. 

The 22-year-old world cross country eighth-placer was third in the 5,000m in Rabat and only 11th in Oslo over 3,000m.

Muir said afterwards: “I am pleased to get my best season opener last week and then another solid performance tonight. I have to bear in mind we are only at the start of June and it is all about August this year - that is when I need to be at my best. 

“To be running what I am now and knowing that I have a couple more months of training before the Olympics is very exciting going forward. I am not doing Rome (the European Champs) because of the championship format and lots of rounds plus it will be very hot. I want to put everything I have into the Olympics. So it is back to Manchester for a block of training and the British Champs.”

Gambia’s Gina Mariam Bass-Bittaye enjoyed a surprise 100m victory over an established field with a 11.15 (-0.8) clocking over Olympic and world fourth-placer, Marie-Josee Ta Lou (11.16). 

The 29-year-old African 100m and 200m champion, Bass-Bittaye recorded a superb 10.93 in May but today’s performance is her first experience of taking notable scalps on the international circuit. 

"The weather was perfect for me today and the people of Stockholm were very welcoming and have come out to support us. I am in top form and I was confident when I came out today that I could show my talent. My next step is to go home to train until the Olympics because I want to reach that Olympic final. I am lucky that in my country I do not have to do trials so I can concentrate on my training and preparation. I have done lots of racing so it is time for a break now to prepare well."

Meanwhile, the Ivory Coast’s Ta Lou pushed Brittany Brown - the winner in Oslo this week - into third position, the American clocking an 11.18 season’s best. 

Nicola Sutton for the BAUHAUS-galan media team.