The near-eminent woman in British athletics finally has a medal around her neck. While it’s not the color Jemma Reekie has wanted for a long time, it at least offers a glimmer of hope.
The 25-year-old Scot then bravely revealed how devastated she felt physically and mentally last year due to a debilitating bout of glandular fever and a split from coach Andy Young. Although she didn’t have an answer to Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma’s stunning performance in the 800m final, she could at least reflect on how far she’d come.
“I’ve been silent, but I’m in a bad situation,” she said. “So, if you told me 12 months ago that I would walk away with a silver medal, I would be very happy. It’s been an exciting year,” she added. “A lot of people don’t see the turmoil I’ve been through behind the scenes, even through the tough times of the past few weeks. It took an army to get me back to where I am today, and I can’t thank them enough.”
Reekie had been the heavy favorite at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, but it turned into a tactical race with the athlete barely completing the halfway mark in 63.30 seconds. This worked out well for Duguma, a former 400m runner, who flew home in 2:01:90, with Reekie nearly three-quarters of a second behind.
“We have to smile and be happy,” Recchi said. “I made some big mistakes, but this is another lesson learned.”
The final night saw a second medal for Team GB, with the women’s 4x400m team of Laviai Nielsen, Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Jessie Knight claiming bronze in a national record time of 3 minutes 26.36 seconds. But none of that stopped the Netherlands, led by Femke Bol, from taking the gold medal ahead of the United States.
Team GB finished these championships with four medals. But Britain’s Georgia Bell and Revée Walcott-Nolan threatened to finish fifth in the 1500m, finishing behind Ethiopian champion Frey. Freweyni Hailu, finished fourth and sixth. Elsewhere, New Zealand’s Geordie Beamish shockingly won the men’s 1500m, beating American Cole Hocker in lane four. Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis overcame early inconsistency in the pole vault to claim another world title with a clearance of 6.05m.
Newsletter Promotion Post
But the performance of the night came from Devynne Charlton, who won gold in the 60m hurdles in a world record time of 7.65 seconds. On top of that, she also received a $50,000 (£39,500) bonus.
