After running 3:58.06 for sixth over 1500m at the Paris Diamond League on Friday, the Olympic bronze medallist stated she is seriously considering prioritising the 800m in 2025
Georgia Hunter Bell has revealed she is thinking about putting her focus towards the 800m over the 1500m this season.
The Brit secured an Olympic bronze and European silver medal in the 1500m last summer and also set a British record of 3:52.61 for the distance, a mark that put Bell 11th on the global all-time list.
Two thirds of Bell’s 18 outdoor competitions last season were in the 1500m compared to five in the 800m, with the other one being over 5000m.
Bell’s run at the Paris Diamond League (June 20) – she placed sixth with 3:58.06 – was her second outdoor 1500m of this campaign, following on from clocking 4:00.85 for fourth at the Grand Slam Track meeting in Philadelphia last month.
She went into Paris off the back of a win in the 800m at the Stockholm Diamond League, coming from behind to claim the victory in 1:57.66. The 31-year-old suggests she was in the mood and shape to run much quicker, with her personal best standing at 1:56.28.
Speaking to AW in the French capital after her sixth place finish in the 1500m, Bell talked through her thought process.
“I actually think I’m preferring the 800m right now,” she said. “I feel like I’m ready to pop out a big time out. I was really looking forward to doing that the other day in Stockholm but the race ended up being very tactical. So I’m really excited to do a time trial in London.
“The pain is also over a lot quicker compared to the 1500m because it starts to hurt around that 800m mark and then you’ve still got a long way to go. This 1500m felt really hard from the gun and the first day of Grand Slam Track was also tough.
“Paris was my second outdoor 1500m of the season and it’s kind of making me think ‘do I want to look at just focusing on the 800m this season?’ I’ll go away and chat with Jenny [Meadows] and Trevor [Painter].”
If Hunter Bell did decide to prioritise the 800m then she won’t be short of training partners who specialise in the distance, with the standout name being reigning Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson.
Only Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie (1:55.61) ran quicker than Hunter Bell over two laps last season, with the trio placing 1-2-3 at the London Diamond League.
“I was originally an 800m runner and that’s what I was recognised for,” Hunter Bell added. “Trev and Jen are pretty pure 800m coaches as well. Trev was absolutely buzzing in Rome last summer when I got a 1500m silver medal at the European Championships, given it was the first major 1500m medal we got in the group!
“I ran the third fastest global time in 800m last year and I really do think the 800m at the Olympics could’ve been a possibility. I hadn’t run that 800m qualification time [1:59.30] by trials, so I’ve known for a while there was a lot of opportunity in the distance.
“Since the Paris Olympics, a lot of the work that I’ve done has been in the gym and that translates a lot better to the 800m, which is where I’m seeing myself being a bit stronger. I’ve done a lot of strength and conditioning over the winter and was in the gym around six hours per week, focusing a lot on specific strength work to look at my weaknesses. I wasn’t able to do that last season. The mobility and posture still goes a bit when I’m tired but it’s improved a lot compared to last year.
“So we’ll wait and see. It’s a long season and there’s still a bunch of races to get through before the World Championships.”
