Josh Kerr stormed to Commonwealth Games mile gold as Scotstoun rocked to The Proclaimers.
It took the Scot less than four minutes to cover the distance. By the finish, the rest looked as though they had walked all 500 miles.
In a tactical and scrappy race, where sharp elbows were needed, Kerr surged to the front on the final lap and kicked clear of a world-class field to cross the line in 3:54.22, 12 seconds slower than his recent world record, but this mission had a higher purpose.
Australia’s Cameron Myers, widely viewed as his closest rival, had talked a big game but had no answers when the Scot turned on the burners with 200m to go.
Former world champion Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya completed the podium, but this was ultimately a race at the mercy of the man of the moment.
Records can define you, but they don’t last forever; no one was removing this night from the history books as Kerr became the first Scot to win a middle distance blue riband at the Games.
“This means everything. It was the championship of my season, it was the one I’d circled on the calendar,” said Kerr.
“It doesn’t get any better than this. It was absolutely incredible. In front of a Scottish crowd where I learned how to race. I came here week after week growing up as a kid.
“I had a lot of energy to pull out a gap in the last 200m, so I decided to go early and save everyone some stress.”
Sixty years after the mile was last contested at the Commonwealth Games, and 72 years after Roger Bannister and John Landy went stride for stride in one of the most famous races of all time, Kerr secured his place in history.
He may have started favourite after breaking the 27-year-old world mile record in London two weeks ago, but he knew it would be no procession.
Myers, just 20, is viewed as one of the sport’s rising middle-distance stars, while teammate Ollie Hoare won the 1500m title four years ago in Birmingham.
And then there was fellow Scot Jake Wightman, the former world champion who is always dangerous in major championships when fully fit.
“I felt relaxed,” said Kerr, who has just 13 days to reset his sights on the 1500m at the European Championships in Birmingham and a potential showdown with arch-rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
“London was a big stress and I pushed my body to the absolute limit, so I really had to use my brain to save my body there.
“I didn’t put the performance together I wanted at the last Commonwealth Games and I felt the British crowd deserved more from me. I owed them that.”
Meanwhile, Jazmin Sawyers finally has the outdoor athletics gold she’s always dreamt of.
Eight years ago, the talented singer recorded Team England’s anthem. Now she was at the top of the medals podium rather than the pop charts.
Sawyers upgraded the Commonwealth long jump silver she won 12 years ago in Glasgow, producing a best effort of 6.93m to secure the title with room to spare.
Injuries have long plagued the 32-year-old’s career, and Sawyers spent 20 months on the sidelines after rupturing her Achilles in the build-up to the Paris Olympics.
She won the European indoor title three years ago but confessed this triumph went straight to the top of her achievements, 15 years after she made her international debut.
“It hasn’t properly hit me yet. This is the thing I’ve been telling myself all the horrible bits are for,” said Sawyers.
“The feeling is overwhelming. I had to pull out of the British Championships and stop during the Diamond League because my body was telling me, ‘No, you’re not ready and you’re going to hurt yourself’. For the first time in my career, I was protecting the major championships, and I think it worked.”
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