European Indoor Athletics: Laura Muir and Richard Kilty win gold in Belgrade - BBC Sport
Britain's Laura Muir wins 1500m gold and Richard Kilty defends his 60m title at the European Indoor Championships in Belgrade.
Last updated on .From the section Athletics

Britain's Laura Muir and Richard Kilty won gold at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade.

Muir, 23, broke Dame Kelly Holmes' British record and the championship record as she won her first major title in the 1500m.

Defending champion Kilty, 27, finished the 60m in 6.54 seconds after team-mate Andy Robertson was disqualified.

Andrew Pozzi claimed Britain's first gold of the competition on Friday in the 60m hurdles.

"I just wanted to run a quick race. I never envisaged breaking the British record, it's brilliant," Muir told BBC Sport.

"The past couple of years, medals have just slipped away. I'm relieved to get one now."

Muir missed out on medals at the 2015 European Indoors and World Championships, where she finished fourth and fifth respectively.

However, having already set three European records this year, she pulled away in the final two laps and won by more than two seconds, with team-mate Sarah McDonald coming sixth.

Germany's Konstanze Klosterhalfen took silver, while Poland's Sofia Ennaoui finished third.

"I'm so happy, it feels like a long time coming to win a medal," Muir added.

"I knew a couple of the girls would have a couple of good sprint finishes so I tried to play to my strengths."

Laura Muir is such a different athlete to the one we saw a few years ago. She's had disappointments but she has fought and worked so hard.

She's covered every base and when you watch her now, you get the sense of, is this another Mo Farah? She has that feeling of superiority and invincibility.

I think Laura Muir just underlined the shape that she's in and her superiority. She can run the 3,000m any way she wants tomorrow, there are no worries about will she be fatigued, because the way she trains and puts hard sessions back to back, there won't be any issues about the way she recovers.

Kilty had dominated the heats for the 60m and did not let up in the final as he successfully defended his title.

Fellow Briton Theo Etienne, making his senior debut, finished in fifth with a time of 6.67 seconds.

"When it really matters I'm willing to lay my heart on the line and put in my best performance," Kilty told BBC Sport.

Robertson, who finished third in his semi-final and was set to be a strong contender in the final, was left disappointed after being disqualified for a false start.

"I'm a bit frustrated. I felt like I was in personal best form. I felt like I could have won that today," Robertson added.

"Sadly it's not meant to be. I felt like I would have been contending today but it is what it is."

Britain's Laviai Nielsen missed out on a medal in the 400m as she was overtaken on the line to finish fourth.

The 20-year-old, whose twin sister Lina was forced out earlier in the week with a leg injury, saw Poland's Justyna Swiety grab the bronze, with France's Floria Guei winning gold and Czech Zuzana Hewjonova the silver.

"Fourth place is agonising, it was just the last bit," said Nielsen, who still has the 4x400m relay on Sunday. "I thought I had it and I tried, I really did."

In the women's 60m competition, Asha Philip looked comfortable winning her heat in 7.25secs, fifth fastest overall going into Sunday's semi-finals.

"You want to qualify for a good lane and winning that heat helped me," the 26-year-old told BBC Sport.

"I don't want to kill myself because three rounds is hard. The boys have had to do it all in one day so I feel sorry for them. We've got an extra day to recover so I'm grateful for that."

Morgan Lake finished eighth in the high jump final, while world indoor bronze medallist Lorraine Ugen qualified for the long jump final at her first attempt.

The 25-year-old jumped a season's best 6.80m, passing the 6.60m automatic qualification mark. Team-mate Jazmin Sawyers missed that mark but joined Ugen in the final after finishing seventh overall with a best of 6.54.

Robbie Grabarz and Allan Smith qualified for Sunday's high jump final, but fellow Briton Chris Kandu missed out after finishing 10th in qualifying.