Muir looks set to end British 1,500m medal drought

Laura Muir has a chance to become the first Briton to win an Olympic 1,500m gold medal for 12 years. Yet the largely unheralded Scot is on offer at 12-1 to take the title in Rio.

The 23-year-old from Dundee had a storming run in London last month, surging to the front of a world-class field at the Diamond League meeting 600 metres from home to finish in 3min 57.49sec, the second-fastest time in the world this year, and breaking the national record which was set by Kelly Holmes in winning Olympic gold in Athens in 2004.

Muir has plenty of tough opposition to overcome from the Africans, but in a field shorn of any Russian opposition, she has a reasonable opportunity of landing a surprise win.