British record-holder will return to the scene of her two world indoor medals before going for gold in Glasgow

Birmingham has been a very happy hunting ground for Laura Muir over the past couple of years and the double world indoor medallist will be seeking more of the same when she returns for the Müller Indoor Grand Prix ahead of her European title defence.

Securing success ahead of some of the world’s best on February 16 would be the perfect warm-up for the European Indoor Championships taking place on her home track in Glasgow just two weeks later and the 25-year-old would love to provoke another “crazy” atmosphere at Arena Birmingham.

Muir gained her first global medals – 1500m silver and 3000m bronze – when the IAAF World Indoor Championships took place in the West Midlands city in March and the previous winter she smashed the British 1000m record with 2:31.93 on the same track.

“I’m really excited,” says the Scottish Athletics athlete of the year, who also won European outdoor 1500m gold and claimed the Diamond League title as well as qualified as a vet in 2018.

“Winning the two medals there this year was great and I think the crowd is always fantastic in there. It’s always a really good atmosphere.

“The year before I broke the British record there too, so I have really fond memories of competing in that stadium.

“The atmosphere in there does go crazy,” she adds. “I remember the last lap of the 1km record I went for a couple of years ago and the crowd just went mental. They are so close to you and you can hear that roar.”

On the event’s importance ahead of the European Indoors, she explains: “It’s such a high level of competition that it really does get you out there and executing a very high-quality race, which you need to be doing ahead of a championships.

“It gives you a really good feel for where you’re at and any little fine adjustments you need to make.

“It’s important to have that top-quality competition leading up to it, to get you back into the swing of things of competing at that level.”

First up, Muir has two training camps in South Africa over the winter which will be fuelled by her goal of retaining either her 1500m or 3000m crown at the Emirates Arena in March.

“It’s a great motivation for me this winter to work as hard as I can,” she adds.

“It’s the first time I’ll actually be able to defend a title, so it’s quite a unique position for me to be in, with it being on home turf as well.

“To be the defending champion on home soil is pretty special.”

» Tickets to see the world’s best athletes in Birmingham are on sale now via www.britishathletics.org.uk