Keeping his powder dry until the closing lap, the Glaswegian deployed his pace to earn a victory in 3:46.16 which secured his selection for next month’s world championships in Budapest. Now based in Arizona where the desert sees only baking sun for months on end, this took the 28-year-old back to dreich nights at his boyhood club of Giffnock North.
“I have not had racing conditions like that for a while so it was fun,” said the European indoor medallist. He will be joined at the worlds in this event by runner-up Elliot Giles and by Olympic medallist Josh Kerr, who opted for a jaunt over 800 and came fifth. “Given what others have done this season and the condition Josh Kerr feels he’s in, I knew I needed to be top two,” Gourley underlined.
