Silver for Jemma the gem as relay team also shine
LAST year, Jemma Reekie was broken. Last night, she finally broke her medal duck. What a turnaround it has been for the Scottish runner.
And what a thrill she gave her home crowd here in Glasgow, even if she was not quite able to emulate the gold of her compatriot Josh Kerr the previous night.
In the build-up to this meeting, Reekie opened up on her struggles of last season, when a bout of glandular fever and a split from her coach Andy Young left her ‘broken’, ‘terrified’ and ‘mentally frazzled’. Reekie was on the floor. But last night she was standing proudly on the podium after winning a silver medal in the 800 metres — her first gong in a career of near misses.
Yes, the 25-year-old had wanted the gold in Glasgow, especially after qualifying fastest for the final. But while she ultimately never got close to challenging Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, Reekie’s silver lining came with a run of 2min 2.72sec. ‘I was in a horrible place this time last year,’ admitted Reekie. ‘So, if you had told me 12 months ago I would walk away with a silver, I’d have been very happy.’ It was her best result since fourth place at the Olympics in 2021, when she was beaten by younger British teammate Keely Hodgkinson. She has since finished fifth in European, Commonwealth and world finals. Reekie’s maiden medal was Britain’s second of the night — and their fourth of these championships — after Laviai and Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Jessie Knight won bronze in the women’s 4x400m relay with a national record, aided by Jamaica dropping the baton on the third leg. However, Britain’s Georgia Bell, who works full-time in cyber security, missed out on a podium place on her international debut when she finished fourth in the 1500m.