Reekie guns for gold in Tokyo after Eugene slip
JEMMA REEKIE has her eye on gold in the Olympic 800 metres final on August 3. One narrow defeat on the other side of the Pacific in late-April might, the 23-yearold signalled, have provided the critical edge she needed to take Tokyo by storm.
Reekie bounced back to winning ways in magnificent style in California late on Sunday night at the USATF Golden Games, producing her fastest-ever outdoor 800m of 1:58.27 with a pitch-perfect sprint off the final bend.
Chasing her down ferociously was training partner Laura Muir who made it a Scottish 1-2 in 1:58.46, the second-best time of her career.
Adelle Tracey came fourth in a personal best of 1:59.50 as all three Brits ducked under the Olympic qualifying standard. But Reekie admits that coming off second-best to Tracey in Oregon two weeks ago by a mere one-hundredths of a second lit a fire that might help her burn brighter when the Olympic flame comes into view.
She said: “I didn’t execute very well in Eugene at all. But I think I needed that race. It always makes me more determined when I don’t do as well. I had to refocus towards the season.
“I don’t think I ran very well. But I had a good session last week and it gave me a lot of confidence towards this race.
“This really showed that I want to be up there. I don’t enjoy coming second. So I really wanted to come out and win.”
On her 28th birthday, Muir had plenty to celebrate despite a charge that began too late.
“I almost gave myself the best athlete present of a new personal best but just missed it by 0.04s,” she said. “I’m very happy with the result for my first 800m of 2021.”
The Glasgow-based duo have parallel ambitions to leave the chasing pack behind in Japan.
On this evidence, there is no doubt now that Reekie possesses the self-belief to thrust herself to the fore and dare her rivals to try and keep up.
“I felt like I really needed that and it was good to be strong at the finish,” said the 23-year-old, who will complete her American tour in Los Angeles next weekend.
“The aim was to come out and win because that’s what you need to do at the big championships. I was happy with that.”
Muir’s Dundee Hawkhill Harriers club-mate Eilish McColgan was fourth in the 1500m to earn an Olympic qualifying mark over a third distinct distance.
The 30-year-old Dundonian, targeting a 5,000 and 10,000m double in Tokyo, clocked 4:03.89 as Elle Purrier of the USA took victory in a world lead of 3:58.36 ahead of Muir and Reekie’s former training colleague Gabi Stafford.
“I found it tough dropping down to the 1500m but
I’m happy enough with it,” McColgan said. “It was a bit of a shock from the 10,000m. But now I’m looking forward to the Diamond League in Gateshead in a few weeks’ time.”
Fellow Scot Josh Kerr finished fifth in the men’s 800m in 1:45.74 as his bid for a lifetime best fell short.