Muir breaks British mark as world records fall in Paris

Laura Muir set a new British 1500m mark as rival Faith Kipyegon smashed the world record at the Paris Diamond League, while Yaroslava Mahuchikh broke a 37-year mark in the women’s high jump.

Muir, 31, ran three minutes 53.79 seconds for third place to improve the national record she set in winning Olympic silver in Tokyo three years ago.

Kenyan Kipyegon clocked a sensational 3:49.04 to claim victory ahead of Australian Jessica Hull as the 30-year-old now targets a third successive Olympic title in the French capital next month.

British champion Georgia Bell clocked a huge personal best of 3:56.54 for fifth as she builds towards her Games debut, while Katie Snowden was ninth in 3:58.13.

Ukraine’s world high jump champion Mahuchikh, 22, underlined her gold-medal credentials for Paris by breaking Belarusian Stefka Kostadinova’s 1987 record of 2.09 metres with a first-time clearance at 2.10m.

Briton Morgan Lake finished ninth with a leap over 1.92m.

Elizabeth Bird ran a season’s best 9:09.07 to take third in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase, won by Bahrain’s world champion Winfred Yavi in 9:03.68.

Laviai Nielsen ran a personal best 50.76 secs for fifth in a high-quality women’s 400m, won by the Dominican Republic’s world champion Marileidy Paulino in 49.20 secs.

Two Diamond League meetings remain before the Paris 2024 Olympics begin.

Monaco hosts the ninth event in the series on Friday, before athletes have a final opportunity to fine-tune their preparations in London on Saturday, 20 July.

More to follow.