Jemma Reekie (December 2024)
It’s laborious to sum up Jemma Reekie’s 2024. That she did not make the Olympic 800m ultimate used to be an enormous sadness, however general, there have been a number of prime issues after her first yr running with a brand new trainer, Jon Bigg. The yr began neatly with a silver medal within the Global Indoors at Glasgow at the back of Tsige Duguma. Being from Scotland, Glasgow had additional importance for her. “Glasgow is great. I love indoors, and I have had so much fun indoors and in Glasgow. I was so happy to go to Glasgow”, she remembers. “As a Scottish athlete, I could have felt a lot of pressure going to Glasgow because it was Glasgow, and I really wanted to get a medal, but I just had so much fun at that championship, and to walk away with the medal was great. We made such an epic weekend of it, and initially, when I walked off the track, it felt like I had lost the gold. But the athlete who won showed her class by getting an Olympic medal in Paris. Overall, I’m thrilled to have gone to Glasgow and got a medal”.
Jemma Reekie, Glasgow 2024, Global Indoors, picture via Martin Bateman
It used to be a hectic summer season, operating seven Diamond Leagues and getting at the podium six occasions, together with a win in Stockholm, of which she mentioned: “It was good to run a 1:57 from the front. It is a good way to start the season and run consistent 1:57s and know that there is a bit more in there”. The opposite Diamond League spotlight used to be London. It used to be an epic “British Championship” race with Keely Hodgkinson first, Jemma moment, and Georgia Bell 3rd – all 3 operating PBs. Jemma mentioned of her 1:55.61 PR: “I had COVID a couple of weeks ago, so I missed a bit of time, so I just wanted to have a solid run out here today. I knew if I was chasing after Keely, I’d run fast. I was pleased with my position”. After operating a PR for fourth within the Tokyo Olympics, Jemma reduced in size Glandular Fever (mononucleosis) and struggled to regain her absolute best shape. She had waited 3 years to set a brand new PR and used to be overjoyed.
Georgia Bell, Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie, London DL, July 2024, picture via Getty Photographs for British Athletics
The consistency of a win, three-second puts, two-thirds, and a fourth in Diamond leagues used to be enjoyable, appearing she used to be able to win: “Yeah, that’s how it feels to me. Yeah, I want to win every race, but coming in the top three is practice getting into those medal positions, and I’m pleased with where I was this year in those races. The races are still crazily good, and I think I performed well in most races this year – just not the big one”. Her feedback concurrently display her pride with the consistency and her frustration that the only blip used to be the Olympics.
She develops that frustration: “It’s easy to look at one thing, and it’s also like we’re humans; we have a bad day. And if that bad day falls on the big day, that’s what you’re looked at for. Obviously, there’s a lot of upset after Paris, but when we walked away from it, we looked at the season, and it’s like, right, well: ‘Take Paris out there like you’ve got. I’ve done really well throughout the whole season. For the first time in years, that’s a big step forward. And so it’s just like you got to look at the positives, but I know everyone on the outside that just looks at the big one”.
Jemma Reekie, Juliette Whitaker, 800m, heats, August 2, 2024, Paris Olympics, picture via Sam Mellish/Workforce GB
She had additionally run within the Ecu Championships, a month ahead of the Olympics, coming 5th at 1500 however simply part a moment from a medal. She made up our minds to run 1500 because the 800 concerned 3 rounds on consecutive days – “I just thought it was too much for me to do at that time with the training that I was trying to do. But I also wanted a championship experience before Paris, so I thought I could do the 1500 there. I was close to a medal and was gutted not to walk away from Rome with a medal, but I was learning about the 15”.
phJemma Reekie leads, Georgia Bell on her aspect, Roma 2024 EAC 1,500m ultimate, picture via Ecu Athletics
There are two indoor championships for Ecu athletes in 2025, a Ecu and a Global, however Jemma isn’t striking any drive on herself. With the outside Global Championships in September, being in form to compete for indoor medals in February/March will not be very good. She explains: “I’m now not 100% certain. And I don’t assume I will be able to do each indoor championships if I do any like. I will be able to see how I’m nearer to the time and the way coaching goes. We’ve been doing a lot of wintry weather paintings, so I wish to sharpen up for the ones 800s and spot how I’m doing. My primary focal point is at the outdoor. I targeted so much on Glasgow remaining yr with it being Glasgow. This time, I’m like, ‘Right, I’ve were given my indoor medal. Now, I simply in point of fact need to do neatly at outside championships, and it’s this sort of lengthy yr, with the Global Champs being in September. So I’m taking the drive off indoors and wish an out of doors medal. And that’s all I will consider. So if it occurs, nice.
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