Medal magnet Laura Muir Hungary for World Championship gold in Budapest
A quick search of household name British middle-distance runner Laura Muir will return a plethora of pages, articles and images of her winning medals.
The Scottish 1,500m specialist has seen off all comers in the Diamond League, at the European Championships and at the Commonwealth Games.
But the gold medals – of which she has 11 in all disciplines – have thus far eluded her at the two biggest competitions in athletics.
Her silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 felt like a breakthrough moment after years of aiming for the podium on the global stage, and it was followed up a year later in Eugene with a bronze at the World Championships.
With this year’s edition in full swing in Budapest, Team GB and Northern Ireland captain Muir is primed to reach the summit of the podium. Her chance is this evening – the final is at 8:30pm BST – but it will be tough.
The woman who beat her to 1,500m gold in both the Olympics and World Championships across the last two seasons is in the mix yet again.
And Faith Kipyegon is the overwhelming favourite; her best time this season is five seconds faster than her nearest challenger and eight clear of Muir.
World ranked No2 Freweyni Hailu and No3 Irishwoman Ciara Mageean are expected to be in contention, too.
For Muir, she must look at herself and the trust British Athletics has placed in her as inspiration for her success.
She is captain this week, meaning other athletes, maybe at their first major championships, will look to her for guidance.
Whether that is something she takes in her stride alongside her place on the start line remains to be seen but it is something she will not be able to get away from.
Maybe it is the last thing she needs, but it could point towards an interesting future for the 30-year-old.
There won’t be too many more competitions where she will go in as a favourite in the 1,500m, and maybe British Athletics has a longer term plan for Muir to help develop the best and brightest coming through the ranks.
But that won’t be on her mind this evening. Only gold scratches the itch she’s been struggling to reach for years.
She ran five outdoor 1,500m races prior to these championships – all of which were in Europe – and went under the four-minute barrier twice, in Italy and Monaco.
In the vile weather of the British Championships, she ran two times of 4:10 or slower, while the other race, in Sweden last month, saw her cross the line in 4:03.
It is fair to say Muir needs a gold medal at some point – ideally tonight – to ensure her legacy ticks all of the boxes. A career without it will feel like one missing a key accolade.
But Muir has dazzled us year after year in recent times and will undoubtedly be back for more next year, for what could be one last attempt at Olympic glory.