Tokyo Olympics: Laura Muir takes steady approach in quest for glory

The Scot clocked four minutes 03.89 seconds in Tokyo on Monday to reach the 1500 metres semi-finals.

Muir, the European champion, came second in her heat behind Canada’s Gabriela DeBues-Stafford but insisted there was plenty in the tank.

“You don’t want to have any disrespect to any of the girls out here, but I want to save as much as I can for the final,” she said ahead of Wednesday’s semis.

“It’s gone as smooth as it could be - I’ve been out in Japan for a couple of weeks now so feeling really prepared and it’s really good.

“It didn’t feel that fast so that’s good. I just wanted to qualify for the next round as comfortably as possible. So that felt really good out there today and I am looking forward to the semi-final.”

Rival and favourite, the Netherlands’ Sifan Hassan, fell at the start of the final lap in her heat but still managed to win after overhauling the field in a stunning final 350m. Hassan is attempting to win the 1500m, 5,000m and 10,000m.

Team GB’s Katie Snowden also progressed in four minutes 02.77secs but Revee Walcott-Nolan missed out by 0.01s.

Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou took the men’s long jump title with a leap of 8.41m after world champion Tajay Gayle pulled out injured while Jasmine Camacho-Quinn of Puerto Rico claimed gold in the women’s 100m hurdles.

In the women’s 200m - without Team GB star Dina Asher-Smith after she pulled out following her battle with a hamstring injury - 100m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah progressed to the semi-finals.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who claimed 100m silver, won her heat in 22.22s but Shericka Jackson missed out after the sprinter completed a Jamaican clean sweep in the 100m on Saturday.

Great Britain’s Beth Dobbin ran a season’s best of 22.78s to reach Monday evening’s semis.

She said: “I can’t ask for much more than that, I ran the bend how I wanted to and the straight felt really controlled. There’s more in the legs later.

“I could see I was in contention so I tried to stay relaxed. There’s a couple of tenths from that run. I need to see how I recover.

“It’s one of the most stacked 200m I have seen for a long time and it’s missing a few names.

“I walked for the bus at 7.30am and it was blisteringly hot, I’m from up north - we’re not used to this weather.”