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Scotland’s Laura Muir won the Commonwealth 1500m crown with a remorseless display that ground her rivals to dust in her wake.
The 29-year-old wound up the pressure with 500m to go and, despite the best efforts of Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean, no-one could live with her.
Muir finished in four minutes 2.76 seconds to add to her 800m bronze and win Scotland’s 12th title of the Games.
Mageean took silver ahead of Australia’s Abbey Caldwell.
Jemma Reekie, Muir’s training partner, friend and some-time flat-mate, finished fifth but was first to congratulate her team-mate on her victory.
Victory caps a superb 12 months for Muir.
A year and a day ago, she landed Olympic silver in Tokyo after a succession of podium near-misses in major finals.
Last month, she followed up with bronze at the World Championships in Eugene.
Just yesterday, she came third in a slug-fest of an 800m final.
But Commonwealth gold scratches a particular itch – Muir missed Gold Coast 2018 to take her veterinary exams and finished 11th in Glasgow 2014 after being clipped in the final.
“You learn from it and your time will come,” she told BBC Sport.
“It sounds cheesy but it’s true. Eight years of Commonwealths and it’s been bugging me so this means a lot.”
Muir’s year is not over yet either. The third peak of an epic campaign awaits in a little over a week.
In Munich, she will attempt to defend the European title that she won in Berlin four years ago.
Scotland’s haul of gold medals at this Commonwealth Games now eclipses their total at every Games, bar Glasgow 2014.
Pattison wins 800m bronze to underline potential
In the 800m final that followed Muir’s victory at the Alexander Stadium, England’s Ben Pattison underlined his potential by taking bronze in a high-class field.
The 20-year-old finished third in 1:48.25, as Kenya’s Wycliffe Kinyamal defended his title under pressure from Australia’s Peter Bol.
Max Burgin, another English prospect and the fastest man in the world this year, missed the Commonwealth and World Championships after picking up a deep vein thrombosis on his way to Oregon.
