Neil Gourley will stroll on to the rubberised track in Istanbul on Thursday evening with ample expectation and genuine hope. The European Indoor Championships loom.

The Glaswegian is venturing there in the fast lane, primed for a shot at men’s 1500 metres gold, despite the expected presence of Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

The imperious Norwegian, vanquished by Jake Wightman at the world championships last summer, will surely have taken note of Gourley’s performance in Birmingham yesterday as he preps for his own title defence.

A concoction of confidence and verve brought his challenger victory at the World Indoor Tour final in 3 minutes and 32.48 seconds, scything 0.38 seconds off the British record as he overtook the illuminated lights at trackside steering him towards the mark.

“I knew that sort of time was on the cards,” said the 28-year-old, who picked up $5,000 for his record, plus a $10,000 bonus for heading the tour standings. “But it’s one thing saying it and it’s another thing actually going and doing it.

“This year has been a case of consistently hitting those marks of where I need to be and where I think I need to be. It’s really validating that I’m not just talking about the performance levels that I want to achieve. I’m actually going out and hitting them.”

Top spot in the rankings had previously belonged to Josh Kerr. The Olympic bronze medallist, making a brief return to home shores from his American base, hit the front with venom but was stung as Gourley rattled past on the final lap. His winter’s work has been geared towards building endurance, not speed. Yet he injected just enough pace for his fellow Scot to profit.

“And I commend him for that,” Gourley acknowledged. “He was the one that made that race a British record race. I was just able to finish it off. And that was important for next week.”

Now for Turkey, and a long weekend that he trusts will allow him to join Kerr and Wightman as medallists of note.

His was one of three UK records broken in quick succession at the indoor showpiece. Dina Asher-Smith, who will eschew Istanbul, lowered her UK indoor women’s 60m record to 7.03 secs in the heats before winning the final in 7.05.

And Olympic and world silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson shaved two-tenths off her own mark in the 800m as she won in 1:57.18.

Not a world record, rued the 20-year-old, ahead of defending the continental crown that provided her unexpected breakthrough in 2021.

“It’s a British record so I can’t complain but you know when you are capable of so much more,” she said. “I’m a bit gutted. I felt I was on pace but the last 50m it got away from me.”

Laura Muir was likewise frustrated in her tilt at global history over 1,000 metres as the lights stretched beyond her reach. Triumphant by a country mile in 2:34.53, the 29-year-old ended up almost four seconds shy of the time set by Mario Mutola almost 24 years before.

“If you just go a smidge too quick at any one point, that’s it,” analysed Muir. “And I might have over-cooked it a wee bit at the start. But it’s what we set out to do. We got the splits we wanted to hit. It’s just unfortunate it wasn’t quite in the legs at the end.”

Now to recapture a European 1500m crown she has twice worn before.

“This wasn’t what I wanted because I was going for a record. You put everything on the line sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. But I know I’m in a really good spot for next weekend.”

World 5,000m champion Gudaf Tsegay was just nine-hundredths of a second short in her quest to capture the indoor world 3,000 record, the Ethiopian clocking 8:16.69 with Scots prospect Eloise Walker finishing 10th.

In the men’s 60m, Scottish No.1 Adam Thomas was fourth as Charlie Dobson burst clear in 6.64 secs.