Reekie hoping to peak at the right time

JEMMA REEKIE has watched her Olympic final back, just once or twice. Tokyo brought a snapshot of exhilarating promise, then devastating despair, as a medal in the final of the 800 metres was held out towards her then cruelly snatched away.

The 24-year-old, who starts her world championship campaign in tonight’s heats in Oregon, simply went into slow motion as her rivals pressed fast forward.

Athing Mu announced herself by storming to gold. Reekie, her closest challenger entering the home straight, was overtaken for second by compatriot Keely Hodgkinson with 50m left. The Scot, visibly tying up, desperately clung to bronze before Raevyn Rogers picked her off on the last stride. Nine-hundredths of a second was the difference between podium and pain.

“When I watched the race, I was never upset or been disappointed at how I’d run it,” Reekie says. “Because if you watch it back, I go to chase Athing to try and win. And I was so happy that I’d done that because I believed I could be up there with them and compete for a medal.

“So I was really happy with the way I’d run it. Like, you could watch it back and say, ‘oh, if you hadn’t used the energy there, you might have gotten a medal’. But I stood at the start line to try and win.”

Mu and Hodgkinson, both now 20 have only got better. The Englishwoman, who destroyed Kelly Holmes UK record with her silver streak, is even faster, more assured, more ambitious.

“It’s so good for all the girls in Britain to have Keely as a benchmark and to push us all on as well,” says Reekie who took the British title last month with her foe opting out. That was only her second victory of this year. The after-effects of glandular fever hit her hard. Some days, she has felt at her brilliant best and able to go toe to toe with anyone. Others, she has been short on energy and in need of rest.

“There’s been times I’ve been upset after races,” Reekie admits. “And there’s been times that I’ve been happy after races. And I’ve just had to trust what I’m doing. It is something I can’t control.

“I’m still doing pretty well considering. Obviously, I think everyone knows I have really high standards of myself. So it’s not where I want to be. But I’ve also just had to keep moving on from each race and just think, the big champs are ahead. And hopefully they will be well-timed well for me.”