SPAR British Athletics Indoor Championships – Arena Birmingham, Saturday 9 & Sunday 10 February

Returning to the UK’s Second City once again, the 2019 SPAR British Athletics Indoor Championships played host to a fast and furious two days of action which saw 36 champions crowned and 23 athletes book automatic spots on the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team for Glasgow 2019 across the course of the weekend

One of the loudest cheers of the weekend was reserved for Laura Muir’s stunning final kick as she moved away from the field and rapidly towards the finish for yet another British title in the women’s 3000m, with the Scot’s final 400m timed at a scorching 56.9.

In the women’s pole vault, Holly Bradshaw showcased the type of form that will surely see her be challenging for more international podium places this year, with a Championship Record height of 4.80m bringing the Arena to its feet. Elsewhere, Morgan Lake (high jump), Katarina Johnson-Thompson (long jump) and Sophie McKinna (shot put) all struck gold – the latter producing the best throw by a British female since 2000 with 17.97m – to the delight of those inside Arena Birmingham.

60m sprint action saw Asha Philip win a stunning 10^th British title overall (indoors and outdoors), though the Londoner was pushed all the way as she nicked 60m gold in 7.19 seconds ahead of Rachel Miller’s time of 7.20 seconds, with both athletes firmly on the plane – or train – come travelling to represent GB & NI at Glasgow’s European Indoor Championships (1-3 March).

In the men’s equivalent, it was something of a shock 1-2-3 as the notably young trio of Dom Ashwell (19), Adam Thomas (23) and Jeremie Azu (17) seized their opportunity to shine by taking gold, silver and bronze respectively.

There was the type of drama that has been customary at the championships as Jamie Webb was denied a first-ever British title due to a post-event disqualification following the men’s 800m final, meaning Joseph Reid claimed the title, while the returning Dwain Chambers false-started in the semi-finals of the men’s 60m.

Full results from the event can be found here.

Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham – Arena Birmingham, Saturday 16 February

Maintaining its status as the world’s top-ranked one-day indoor meeting, the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham delivered once again with a showcase of world-class athletics over the course of three and a half hours of action.

With Laura Muir serving as something of a poster girl for the event following talk of a potential break of the British 1 Mile record in the lead-up to the meeting, what came before then was even more incredible as Samuel Tefera and Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia battled all the way in a rapid men’s 1500m.

Roared on by a capacity crowd inside Arena Birmingham, Tefera went for broke, zipping past Kejelcha in the final 100m and crossing the line in a world indoor record time of 3:31.04, breaking the previous mark held by the great Hicham El-Guerrouj by 0.14 of a second.

In a record-breaking mood of her own, Muir ensured she too delivered with an emphatic lowering of the British 1 Mile record to bring down the curtain on the afternoon. Running solo for the second half of the race, the Scot claimed her sixth national record and lowered the previous British best by a staggering five seconds as well as revising her British 1500m record following a split of 4:01.83 within her overall clocking of 4:18.75.

There was a swift win for China’s SU Bingtian as he clocked 6.47 seconds, the quickest time in the world this year, ahead of Reece Prescod’s equal personal best 6.53m in the men’s 60m final, while Jamaica’s double Olympic sprint champion Elaine Thompson took victory in the women’s equivalent in 7.13 seconds.

Full results from the event can be found here.