The British runner breaks her own championship record of 9:16.95 in Birmingham, while Hannah Nuttall successfully defends her 5000m title.
Elise Turner strengthened her credentials in the 3000m steeplechase ahead of the European Championships when she clocked a championship record of 9:16.95 in Birmingham on Saturday (20 June).
Turner bested her 9:22.05 from last year, and it adds to the 9:07.39 PB she recently ran in the United States.
With runner-up Stevie Lawrence finishing 16 seconds behind, it meant Turner was running alone for most of the way.
In this form, however, he will be hard pressed to beat the Europeans in Birmingham in a few weeks time. Lizzie Bird’s British record of 9:04.35 will also be under threat.
“I definitely wanted to go fast in the first kilometer, I haven’t had that chance yet this season,” he said. “I’ve been pretty reserved in my first kilometer in other races, so I thought I’d take it out today.
“I got a lot of confidence from my performance in Stockholm (Diamond League) last week so I really wanted to go back there and make it a decent race and I think I did that.
“This is definitely different from last year. Last year there were a lot of unknowns, but I feel like a new person in every way this year.”
Hannah Nuttall used different tactics to win the women’s 5000m as she trailed Innes Fitzgerald most of the way before breaking free in the 200m.
“I really wanted to win again today and retain my title from last year,” said Nuttall, who clocked 15:15.03 as Fitzgerald finished three seconds behind Eloise Walker in second place.
“Innes beat me just a week ago in the Diamond League in Stockholm, so I knew it was going to be very difficult again today. I’m really relieved to come out of the weekend with a win and secure first place. I’m really over the moon.”
