IT was Super Saturday for Scottish athletics at the World Indoor Athletics Championships as two products of Kinross High School added to their legends by claiming famous medals against the best this planet has to offer. In much the same way that Dunblane was once credited with a Davis Cup tennis win, thanks to the efforts of Eilidh Doyle and Laura Muir, that little corner of Perthshire last night could lay claim to a pretty heady spot in the medal table.

Doyle has already left distance running legend Yvonne Murray in her wake to strike out on her own as the most decorated athlete in this nation’s history but few medals have ever meant as much to her as the individual bronze she took last night in the 400m at Arena Birmingham. Only re-instated for the final after the disqualification of Switzerland's Lea Sprunger, Doyle – more renowned as an outdoor 400m hurdler - ran a perfect tactical race and her reward was a season’s best of 51.60 which was good enough for third behind quicksilver American duo of Courtney Okolo and Shakima Wimbley.

As if that wasn’t sensational enough, half an hour later, it was time for Milnathort’s Laura Muir, seven years behind Doyle in school years, to reclaim the limelight. Still hungry for more success after the bronze medal from Thursday night’s 3,000m in the wake of that mad taxi dash down the M6, this time only Genzebe Dibaba – the all-time running great from Ethiopia – could hold a candle to this final year vet student. Some mature racing from Muir saw her outstrip another of Thursday night’s rivals Sifan Hassan to take silver in a time of 4.06.23.

“That bronze gave me a bit of confidence that I could battle it out with those girls,” said Muir. “I controlled the race again and felt so strong in that last lap. Hassan is a top quality athlete, a multiple medallist on the world stage, so I didn’t know until the line that it is silver. Did I think I could be a double world medallist? No, the competition is so tough I thought if I could medal in one I would be delighted.”

Doyle, who had Scottish company in the final in the form of Zoey Clark, a sixth placed finisher in 52.16, was also overjoyed at the first of her World and Indoor medals to come in an individual event “I’ve always won medals in the relays but to win one on my own in an individual 400m is very special and means a lot,” she said. “It’s not my preferred event so to do this is incredible. This adds another accolade to my collection which is just amazing. Last night I didn’t quite believe I was in the final until it was all sorted and all the appeals had gone through. I knew I had been given a great opportunity It was a good race for me; I went out hard which was the plan and I’m so pleased with the end result.”

Enough medal chances remain for it also to be a pretty special Sunday. Not least in the men’s 1500m final, where two Scottish runners will be in the hunt for glory after another dramatic day of qualification. It had been a downbeat Chris O’Hare, wincing with shooting pain from a recurrence of a recent foot injury, who was left picking the bones out of a fifth-place finish in the first heat in a time of 3:42.46. But it soon transpired that his heat was the fastest of the three, and that time was good enough for the final. Whether it puts at risk his preparations for the Commonwealth Games or not, one quick MRI scan later, the 27-year-old from West Linton was pledging to return today to rejoin the battle. “MRI results came back all clear,” he wrote on Twitter. “Onto the world indoors final. Fighters fight, it’s what I do.”

Progressing in far more straightforward manner was Jake Wightman, the Nottingham-born Scot surely impressing his coach and father Geoff – who is one of the stadium announcers this weekend – with a composed run which kept American Craig Engels and Brahim Kaazouzi of Morocco at bay to clock 3.47.23 for victory in his heat and progression. “The only experience I’ve had of a home crowd was London [World Championships] last year and that was immense but this being indoors makes that noise even more amplified,” said Wightman, a former European junior champion. “When I hit the last lap in front they were roaring which is always going to help you keep your form down that home straight. It was alright but I just need to get a nap in now.”

Five months after the former Stenhousemuir player was considering giving up the sport entirely and returning to junior football, Grant Plenderleith was looking forward to a World Championship 4x400 final. He brought the baton home in 3:05.29 – the fourth best time ever by Britain indoors – to finish over two seconds ahead of Spain in third and comfortably advance to the final. “The boys set me up well but I knew I had to get the job done,” said Plenderleith. “I had some strong runners behind me so I had to keep the momentum going. We managed to be in touching distance with the Americans so that is fantastic and we are all excited about a world final tomorrow. It is incredible to do that in front of the home crowd. We couldn’t ask for much more, well we could, a medal tomorrow would be incredible. That’s our next target.”

Mhairi Hendry wasn’t quite so successful in her bid to reach the 800m final, but the 21-year-old was still able to take pride in a third place finish in the final heat in 2:02.65 as she competed at this level for the first time as a senior. “It is just a bit surreal to be lining up alongside such amazing athletes, especially to be competing in front of such a loud crowd in Birmingham,” said Hendry. “I think that spurred me on a bit. To be racing against those girls and not be miles off them is really encouraging. For the future it just makes me a bit more driven to challenge them more.”

One man who didn’t make a final wa Britian’s CJ Ujah, a high profile disqualification in his 60m semi-final for a false start as pre-tournament favourite Christian Coleman got the better of his much-anticipated showdown with Su Bingtian in a championship record of 6.37secs.