The British mile record holder won his first mile race in three years at Iffley Road.
Laura Muir became the first Briton in the Millicent Fawcett Mile after securing victory at this year’s edition of Oxford’s Bannister Miles.
The Olympic 1500m silver and World 1500m bronze medalist was competing in her first mile race since setting a national record of 4:15.24 at the Monaco Diamond League three years ago.
Muir, who skipped the indoor season and won the senior women’s race at the Scottish Cross Country Championships in February, was a class apart at Iffley Road to win convincingly in 4:34.05.
Kyra Brady-Jones was second in 4:43.57 and Charlotte Buckley rounded out the podium in 4:43.85. Sonya O’Sullivan’s record of 4:27.79 was held in 2004.
Muir said AW: He has then focused more on speed endurance in winter training and he could move up from 1500m to longer distances this year. His personal bests in the 3000m and 5000m are 8:30.64 and 14:48.14 respectively.
“We’ve done a big endurance block this winter, which is a very different approach, so I missed the indoor season and it was great to race cross country,” he said. “I knew I had the potential to go a little further in the race distances. I don’t think I’ve ever had a chance to try it. I want to try a few different things and I think a lot of athletes are trying that this year.
“I want to go faster and faster and you have to change a few things to adapt. Are you constantly learning, even this winter? Even going back to racing, it means getting better.
Freddie Rowe won the attractive men’s elite race and narrowly missed the four-minute mile in 4:00.88, chasing both Ethan Newell (4:01.29) and Jack Kavanagh (4:01.44) from the outside.
The 17-year-old arrived at Iffley Road on the back of winning the under-18 race at last Saturday’s Mini London Marathon (2.6km).
“It was a great win and I’m really pleased with myself,” Rowe said. “I can’t say that I expected the result to be like that. It seemed a little slower than expected, especially at a 1:58 pace. I sat on the third lap and then went on the back straight on the last lap.
“I was the typical type of British athlete who took up football and then stopped in Year 8. I was a front runner after that and was inspired by the likes of Mo Farah, Josh Kerr and Jake Whiteman growing up. The middle distance talent right now is amazing.”
Rowe now aims to represent Great Britain at the European Under-18 Championships in Rieti and then the World Under-20 Championships in Oregon.
Elsewhere, Dean Richardson set a British M50 mile record of 4:26.97 at Oxford’s Iffley Road. He then stated that “you’ve got to keep it up because these young men don’t stop.”
