Georgia Bell's Stunning Improvement Continues in Rome
Silver in European Championships stokes Olympic hopes
Georgia Bell after the heats in Rome. Picture: YouTube
June 16, 2024
The meteoric rise of Georgia Bell, the athlete from Chiswick, has continued with her winning a silver medal at the European Athletics Championships.
She was second behind Ireland’s Ciara Mageean in the 1,500 metres in the event in Rome last Sunday 9 (June).
After what she described as a messy heat in which she finished second behind France’s Agathe Guillemot, she held on for her first medal in a major outdoor championship. This represents further improvement from her stunning fourth place in the event at the World Championships in March.
She said afterwards, "It sounds incredible to be a European silver medallist, I cannot stop smiling. I knew it was going to be a tough race up against a really good field. I just couldn’t stop smiling on the start line, this is just so fun to be here. I should be at work tomorrow morning, but I’m here competing at European Championships, so I am very happy.
"Even six months ago I would have thought you were crazy if you told me I’d win a European silver. I was unranked, unsponsored, PB in the 1500m was 4:06, which was nothing to get you anywhere near here. To see where I am now, I am very proud of myself, and I am excited for the future.
"No one wants to finish fourth so I had to dig in. We put a lot of hard work into this, I was still working full-time and fit training in around it, but it’s nice to be now taking a little break over the summer to focus on my running, it’s honestly made the world of difference. I’ve got my time back so I can focus on improving."
The 30-year-old former St. Mary’s Roman Catholic School Primary School pupil now has the Olympic qualifying time under her belt but still has more work to do if she wants to join Team GB in Paris.
The challenge she faces is that there is an extraordinary crop of talent of British women in the event including Laura Muir, who is the fastest in Europe at the moment and who didn’t compete in Rome.
Based on fastest times currently, Georgia is unlikely to be selected but the trajectory of her improvement is such that she still has reason to hope. She has taken close to 6 seconds off her personal best in a very short time after only recently returning to competitive running and full-time training. With a new sponsorship deal under her belt, there may still be time to impress the selectors.
Perhaps the most significant thing about the silver in Rome is that it was won ahead of one of her Team GB rivals Katie Snowden.
Georgia was taking part in Parkruns over two years ago but has been steadily reducing her personal best at the distance helped by her coach Trevor Painter.
Her record is 4:00.41 which she achieved on 24 May at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon but that is three seconds better than it was at the World Championships, an astonishing rate of improvement.
Although, she remains 10 seconds behind the best times achieved by the top African runners this year, she is getting closer and now has a proven history of performing on a big stage. She might be an outside bet even for getting selected for Paris but the odds are shortening by the day
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