Georgia Hunter Bell cruised through her 800m heat in 2:02.61 to book her place in Wednesday's semi-finals on her Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow.
The 32-year-old world silver medallist insisted it was always a 'no-brainer' to compete in the Commonwealth Games, despite a string of high-profile withdrawals including Keely Hodgkinson, Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Many athletes cited a packed schedule with the European Championships in Birmingham next month, but Hunter Bell said making a similar decision never entered her thought process.
'I always wanted to do it'
Hunter Bell said: "Any opportunity to win a medal for Great Britain or England, I obviously want to do. I've never done the Commonwealth Games before, so it's obviously my debut. For me, it was always going to be a no brainer that I do it. I always wanted to do it."
She added: "I was happy to control the race and I felt really good – I'm happy and it's job done. Taking home some hardware would be great, but then I'd also like to use this as a stimulus for training going into the 1500m again."
Jemma Reekie advances
Scottish star Jemma Reekie finished second in Hunter Bell's heat to also safely navigate her way to the semi-finals in front of her home crowd. The 28-year-old former world indoor silver medallist has endured a difficult couple of years and was in a race against time to make these Games after suffering a freak concussion in Poland.
Reekie said: "It's special to be here in Scotland wearing a Scotland vest. I love having a challenge and building myself up towards those challenges – the semis are going to be really tough out there. But that's my next thing – getting through that next round. I've not been to a final in a long time so I want to be back in that final."
Paralympic success
Sophie Hahn bounced back from a difficult couple of years to scorch to T38 100m glory and lead home a British one-two-three. The two-time Paralympic champion, 29, claimed her first Commonwealth title since 2018 ahead of Wales' Olivia Breen and English compatriot Maddie Down.
Hahn said: "The crowd really got behind me and I just felt that I had to focus. This is very special – it's been a long time since I last won a Commonwealth Games back in 2018. This means a lot to come here in a home Games and to win."
There was also English success for Thomas Young later in the evening, who celebrated his 25th birthday in style with T38 100m gold. The Tokyo Paralympic champion stopped the clock in 11.11 to beat Australian Ullrich Muller and follow up his World Championship bronze in New Delhi.
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