Sunday's Muller Indoor Grand Prix provided the perfect warm-up for many athletes ahead of the upcoming World Indoor Championships but the long jump event in Glasgow offered something of a reality check for Greg Rutherford.
The 2012 Olympic gold medallist underwent two surgeries, on his groin and ankle respectively, during an injury-plagued 2017 campaign and he only started walking again in November. The 31-year-old successfully announced his return to competitive action by winning the British Athletics Indoor title last weekend and that performance was enough to earn him a place on the British team for the World Indoor Championships, which are set to take place at Arena Birmingham from 1-4 March.
However, Rutherford wasn't satisfied with his efforts in Glasgow, where he jumped a best of 7.89m to finish in fifth place, some way behind Yuhao Shi's winning jump of 8.13m, and he has admitted that the Worlds may have come too soon as he bids to return to the formidable form that made him a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.
"It was better than it was last week, but it’s not where I want to be," admitted Rutherford. "I wanted to go over eight metres today, which would’ve solidified my decision to go to the World Champs, so I have to debrief, figure out if it’s a possibility and go from there.
"I’m a good couple of months behind where I need to be. The two surgeries I had were quite big so I’m glad that within a week I’ve had about 11 jumps which is a lot for me. It’s good for training but equally if I go to a major championship, I go to win, or at least win a medal, and I’m not sure if that’s a possibility."
Near-Misses For Britain's Best
There was better news for Dina Asher-Smith in Glasgow as she confirmed her burgeoning reputation as one of the fastest women on the planet by finishing ahead of two-time world champion Dafne Schippers and Olympic champion Elaine Thompson to take silver in the women's 60m dash, finishing marginally behind Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou.
"I’m obviously focusing on the Commonwealth Games so I take great confidence from that as I look to peak in April," said Asher Smith, who will miss the World Indoors to focus on the Commonwealth Games in Australia.
In the men's 60m, Bingtian Su extended his unbeaten start to 2018 to eight races (including heats and finals) as he equalled the Scottish all-comers record of 6.50 seconds to take gold and he will now head to Birmingham for what promises to be a fascinating clash with the 60m world record holder Christian Coleman.
However, Great Britain's CJ Ujah could only finish fifth and he appeared to play down his chances of success at the World Indoor Championships.
"I wouldn't call myself an indoor runner but I'll roll with the blows," said Ujah. "My main focus is on the outdoor season. I had a great season last year and I know what the bigger picture is."
In the men's 60m hurdles, Andrew Pozzi tasted defeat in this discipline for the first time since 2014 and he eventually had to settle for a third place finish following a slow start to the final. Jamaica's Ronald Levy, who was racing in his very first indoor race on Sunday, won gold in a time of 7.49 seconds, with USA's Aries Merritt taking silver, although USA's indoor champion Jarret Eaton failed to finish following a horrible crash with the fourth hurdle.
Eilidh Doyle put on a bold, front-running performance to take silver in the women's 400m but the British indoor champion was no match for the reigning world champion Phyllis Francis, who landed gold.
Bosworth Breaks Another World Record
Tom Bosworth claimed gold for Great Britain in the 3,000m walk in Glasgow and he broke another world record, just seven days after enhancing his own British record for the 5,000m in Birmingham. The 28-year-old charged to a time of 10:30.28 on Sunday, smashing the previous best of 10:31.42 set by Andreas Erm back in 2001.
