British athlete Georgia Bell, who only returned to running in 2022 after quitting in 2017 due to injuries, has won an Olympic bronze medal in the 1500m at Paris 2024. The 30-year-old, who works full-time in cybersecurity, ran a British record of 3 minutes 52.61 seconds to secure her place on the podium.
Bell's coaches, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, believe she can emulate Dame Kelly Holmes, who won double gold at the age of 34. 'She is 30 but Kelly Holmes was 34 when she did the double gold,' Painter said. 'And she is very lightly raced, she has had a lot of years out of the sport so her body is not hanging on like some people her age.'
Meadows even suggested Bell could challenge Faith Kipyegon's world record of 3:49.0, saying: '3:49.0 is a little bit in front of her 3:52, but never say never for anything.' The coaching duo also guided Keely Hodgkinson to 800m gold in Paris.
Bell's journey back to running began with a parkrun in March 2022 in Bushy Park, south-west London. She had previously struggled with high training volumes in the US, running 60-mile weeks when she was used to half that. 'It broke her,' Meadows said. But after a phone call to Painter in November 2022, Bell gradually rebuilt her career.
A key session during holding camp saw Bell complete a 1200m time trial that closely emulated the pace required for the 1500m final. Meadows praised Bell's work ethic and ability to follow instructions, noting that she responds precisely to the stimulus given.
Bell took a sabbatical from work from May to September to focus on training for Paris, which cost her commission during a recent cyber attack. 'She was gutted because she said: 'I'm losing so much commission because I'm not at work,'' Painter recalled. Despite the financial hit, Bell's bronze medal marks a remarkable turnaround from her earlier struggles.
