Olympic bronze for 1,500m runner Georgia Bell
Battersea’s Georgia Bell won bronze in the women’s 1,500m at Paris 2024.
The 30-year-old ran a national record 3:52.61 after quitting the sport in 2017 and picking it up again in 2021.
Bell said: “I am in a very good mood. I don’t know if I’ve ever been this happy.
“That was an absolutely crazy race. I woke up this morning really calm and in a very good mood and thought I’m not the fastest person in that race but if I was brave and got stuck in then I can make something happen. So yeah over the moon and I’m an Olympic medallist.
“When I saw them come through like 59/60s I knew it was going to be painful but I also knew I could finish strong so as long as I didn’t let a gap go and I was there with 100m to go then I thought I could do it. I just had to dig deep in the middle.
“I didn’t realise how fast it was until we crossed the line, I just zoned out after that first lap and just tried to stay in the train and not overthink it.
“I did an 800m a couple of weeks ago which showed me I have good speed and gave me confidence going in. It’s my strength as a 1,500m runner than I can close hard if I stay in there.”
Bell pipped Ethiopian Diribe Welteji to bronze and smashed her personal best by 10 seconds.
Asked about what she was thinking on the final straight, the South Londoner said: “Dig deep. At the start line I was telling myself I was born for this, because I was born in Paris 30 years ago. I just felt like I had nothing to lose, there was no pressure on me, training was going well and it was so unlikely I would be here in the first place, so I just had to go for it and ese what happens.
“I am so happy I came back to this sport.
“Mainly, I’m happy with what running has given me. Obviously it’s amazing to be at the Olympics but when I took up running again, the goal wasn’t to make the Olympics, that would have been absolutely bonkers at the time, it was coming back to something that I really loved and taking the time away showed I really love it, I love it being part of my life, I look forward to that part of the day and I’ve made friends and family through it.
“There’s so many people I am thankful for I have the best family and the best team. I also want to say a big thank you to the National Lottery, they help us prepare so we can bring back medals for our country.
“The team is doing so well, seeing Keely [Hodgkinson] smash it the other night is so inspiring. I feel like there’s so much more from the team and I feel really lucky to be a part of it.”