LAURA Muir was standing on a podium inside the Arena Birmingham last night, a gold medal being draped around her neck. It is a sensation she would dearly love to experience again at least once, but possibly even twice, in a fortnight’s time. The blistering final three-lap burst she produced to blow away this field for her first British indoor 3,000m title in a time of 8:46.71 makes her the first UK athlete for more than 40 years to own the hat-trick of 800m, 1500m and 3000m and rubber stamped her qualification for the serious business of the World Indoor Championships back at this venue in the first weekend of March. Also armed with a qualifying standard, in all likelihood, the woman standing next to her on the podium, her Dundee Hawkhill team-mate Eilish McColgan, will be back here too.

Unlike McColgan, who hedged her bets by forcing herself back out here an hour later to book her place in today’s 1,500m final, Muir declined to double up this weekend. But in the increasingly likely event that she also decides to put her name forward for her more recognised event, at the World Indoors, the selectors would need to have a damn good reason not to select her when they come to their final deliberations tomorrow. Dropping the hammer for a stunning last 600m which left her rivals gasping for breath, this was as surgical and clinical as anything Muir had done in her recent vet training, the latest instalment of which saw her perform operations like castrating a dog.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been at these championships but it shows I’m in good shape," said Muir, who missed this event last year on the proviso she competed in the Birmingham Grand Prix instead. "We were going to make a decision [on doubling up] this weekend but it’s maybe a day too early. There is that discretionary place in the 1500m and I’m confident they’d pick me. I’m doing charity stuff in my vet training right now which is great. I did a few operations – a cat spay and a dog castrate - and it will be similar next week.”

Yesterday was a day of dramatic 11th hour withdrawals. First the in-form Steph Twell, pencilled in for that same 3,000m and a potential rival of McColgan's for that second spot, called off with an untimely bout of cold and flu symptoms. Then it was the turn of Chris O’Hare, a man who has yet to be beaten during 2018 and set a Scottish national indoor record of 3.37.03 in Boston only last week, to pull out from the men's 1500m with a “minor foot issue” which hadn’t healed as fast as he had hoped.

That event was completed a day early in a straight final and it was left to his fellow Scot Jake Wightman to take a second title north of the border, booking his own spot at the World Indoors and leaving the selectors at the horns of another dilemma between O’Hare and yesterday’s runner up Charlie Grice. For his part, the Englishman who now wants to be known by his Sunday name, Charles Da’vall Grice, reckons O’Hare deserves the nod.

“I was a bit gutted when I found out [about O’Hare] to be fair because I was looking forward to the race,” said Wightman after claiming his first British indoor title, announced by his father and coach Geoff, who also does live commentary for the vent.

“I don’t think you can fault Chris’ first couple of races,” added Wightman, who had his countrymen Sol Sweeney, Jamie Williamson and Ben Potrykus in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. “He has done everything he can to get himself picked, apart from win the trial. But it is a tough one for the selectors to decide. But I’m just pleased I got myself sorted. I couldn’t hear my dad. But I block him out because he does my head in anyway. I have had quite a few times where I haven’t made it out of the heats, so to actually win a final is nice for him because it hasn’t happened before.”

There were four Scottish title winners, and nine medal winners in all, at this event 12 months ago and more chances remain, most notably in the women’s 400m, where two Scottish relay pals from London 2017, Eilidh Doyle and Zoey Clark, qualified first and second respectively. “It is nice to come here and be in shape to run well," said Doyle. "Hopefully it will be a good battle tomorrow."

Grant Plenderleith remains in the men's 400m, while Mhairi Hendry, ranked No 3 in the UK over 800m this year, was second fastest qualifier for her final. Others were simply happy to taste this level of competition, not least young Alessandro Schenini, a 17-year-old long jumper from the Giffnock North Club, who trailed behind former Olympic and world champion Greg Rutherford as he marked his return from a year of serious injury by taking this title with a leap of 7.80. Megan Marrs of Northern Ireland ran a PB to take the sprint hurdles honours, with Scotland’s Heather Paton back in fifth. Other gold medals on the day went to world class performers such as CJ Ujah and Asha Philip in the sprints, and Katarina Johnson Thomson in the long jump.