Heart-distance runner talks in regards to the paintings she is putting in place to revolutionise her working taste as she seems to stay tempo on the sharp finish of 800m working
Jemma Reekie has spent the hot previous seeking to take the brakes off. Since shifting from her local Scotland to Brighton to begin operating with trainer Jon Bigg, the arena indoor silver medallist has zoned in on converting the very means she runs as she seems to stay tempo with the ever advancing requirements of ladies’s 800m working.
Given the paintings concerned with converting from being a heel striker to a extra forefoot runner, she seems again on 2024 – a yr that introduced that global indoor medal in entrance of a house crowd in Glasgow in addition to a Diamond League win in Stockholm and a reassuring and confidence-boosting PB in London – with some pleasure. There’s one obvious exception, on the other hand. Best attaining the semi-finals on the Paris Olympics fell a way wanting the expectancies of an athlete who had best simply ignored out on a medal on the Tokyo Video games 3 years prior to now.
“I think we had a lot of positives from 2024 and we learned a lot but it was still hard not achieving what I wanted to achieve,” she says. “Paris used to be truly arduous. It used to be my 2d Olympics and the second one Olympics I went to when a medal would were a sensible purpose. Now not even making the general used to be a truly tough one nevertheless it’s one thing that my complete group and myself have realized from.
“It’s only been a year working with Jon and we’ve got so much to look forward to. I’ve shown physically that I can do what we need to do and more. It’s just like I need more time.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
There have certainly been giant indicators that the learning paintings is paying off. After a hard cut up from long-time mentor Andy Younger, Reekie moved south in 2023 and is relishing the danger to revolutionise how she is going about her paintings.
“Joining Jon has been amazing,” she says. “We do much more pace paintings, much more technical paintings and I’ve modified my working method. I used to heel strike and, having a look on the means I used to run, it’s loopy how a lot heel moves are mainly striking at the brakes for the entire race. We’ve modified that to now working at the entrance of my foot as a rule. It’s nonetheless a ways from very best, but when I sought after as a way to compete with the women which might be working crazily rapid then I needed to alternate that working method as it used to be simply slowing me down and you’ll be able to best get such a lot sooner with it.
“Hopefully I’ll keep progressing a bit better again this year, but we’ve only had a year to do all this stuff, and it’s been hard work, but I think it’ll be worth it in the long run.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
She provides: “I’m nonetheless doing 1500m coaching, however extra particularly 800m coaching, and I’m doing extra fitness center paintings than ever. I believe like I’m coaching increasingly ceaselessly, however I’m getting truly excellent high quality stuff accomplished and the set-up they have got down right here has simply been truly excellent.
“The crowd that Jon has created is superb to paintings with – coaching with the likes of Elliot Giles, who’s so skilled in what he’s doing and he’s been thru accidents. It’s inspiring to peer those other folks and I feel that’s what I’ve were given from this staff – such a lot inspiration and such a lot pleasure out of coaching.
“Jon’s just got so much time for his athletes and he’s got the perfect size of group so that we get the right amount of time and attention. Jon won’t let you down. He’s always working on how to make you better. He’s always there and trying his hardest to make you the best that you can be. He gives me so much confidence because what we’re doing is working. He explains everything to me and I’m learning so much.”
Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie (Jan Figueroa)
That non-public absolute best on the London Diamond League, coming 2d to Keely Hodgkinson’s British listing, supposed a super deal to Reekie for numerous causes. Her earlier absolute best have been the 1:56.90 that had observed her end simply 0.09 seconds clear of bronze in Tokyo however, in the meanwhile, sickness had stopped her in her tracks.
“It was really exciting to get a PB and a relief as well because I actually hadn’t run one since I got glandular fever a few years ago,” she says. “It was a big confidence boost and because we’ve been doing so much new training it was like: ‘Okay, this is working, we’re going the right direction’. That was a big breakthrough and confirmation we’re doing the right thing.”
Reekie is a former British record-holder herself and he or she has been given sufficient reminders in contemporary months that she belongs on the elite degree.
“The level of 800m running just now is insane,” she admits. “1:57 now is like a new two-minute barrier so my 1:55 this year shows I’m still up there with those times. Now it’s going to be about getting more consistency and performing at those big races the way I need to.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
On the time of writing Reekie used to be nonetheless settling on whether or not or to not do an indoor season.
With the out of doors Global Championships happening in mid-September, there’s a wariness about competing in February whilst aiming to height seven months later.
There’s sure bet, despite the fact that, about which distance she might be absolutely fascinated about for the approaching yr. Whilst she competed within the 1500m on the 2024 Eu Championships, the 26-year-old says: “I will still be running 1500m races as I really do think it helps my 800m and maybe later I could be doing the 1500m as well as 800m, but I still think I have so much to give in the 800m and so much to improve on that I’m definitely going to focus on the 800m for the next Olympic cycle.”
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