It’s quite a story – they make movies about stories like this – Georgia Bell is now an Olympic Games medallist.
On Saturday night in Paris, the city of her birth, the 30-year-old British star ran an incredible 3:52:61 to claim a spectacular bronze in the final of the 1500m. The reason why it’s so incredible? Georgia’s journey to get here, and how it very nearly never happened.
The former University of California-Berkley athlete, who was a promising runner before quitting the sport once, has made staggering strides in athletics since returning to the track post-pandemic.
From nowhere, to Olympic glory
Having won the World Duathlon Championship title in 2023, when she represented the British age-group team in Ibiza, Bell’s athletics went from strength to strength. Earlier this year, she also signed a professional contract with Nike.
Balancing a job in cyber security with her athletics career, Bell had already performed heroics this summer by claiming 1500m silver in the European Athletics Championships in Rome in June. But she took things to a whole new level in Paris on Saturday with that brilliant Olympics bronze.
Georgia was within .05 of a second of claiming silver as she came home a whisker behind Australia’s Jessica Hull, with Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon claiming gold with a new Olympic Record of 3:51:29.
A couple of short years ago this would have seemed utterly unthinkable, it’s a story which is worth retelling, and one which Georgia recounted in a post-race interview with Eurosport.
“I’m in shock. I didn’t realise how quick it was until the end. I knew it was hurting but I was obviously just trying to focus on crossing the line top three. I’m so happy.
Georgia Bell on her fairytale rise
“I just felt coming into this race, it sounds cheesy, but my whole life has been preparing for this. I was born in Paris 30 years ago, I completely quit, I came back, I’m in the shape of my life and I just had no pressure. And I was like, If it’s ever gonna happen, it will be today, so like just be brave and see what happens.”
Georgia spoke about the moment when she quit the sport, the disappointment which came with that, and also the joy at being able to grab a second chance in such incredible fashion.
“My last race in NCAA, I finished, and I’d run a 4:30 for a 1500 – which is not good. I was just like ‘I’m so done with this’ and it was like I knew I’d never achieve my potential, it was sad, and I thought ‘that’s it now’.
“But then through COVID, through other things, I got back into it. It’s just nice to know that you can still have dreams when you grow up and it’s never too late to go back to something you love.”
