The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Confident Reekie adds victory at Poland meet
Jemma Reekie made it two wins out of three in this shortened summer with a devastating final lap burst at the Irene Szewinskiej Memorial meeting in Bydgoszcz, Poland, last night.
After setting a British Under23 best behind Laura Muir in the 1,000m in Monaco last weekend, the Ayrshire ace sprung out of the pack in a stacked 1,500 metres as her rivals folded to clock 4:09.01.
Last spring’s breakthrough indoor campaign, which saw Reekie claim one record after another, has persuaded her that she would not be remotely out of place in the thick of contention at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 22-year-old said: “I can say ‘that’s definitely the target.’ Even going into my last few races indoors, I was going in more confident. I was staying relaxed rather than panicking.”
Erin Wallace, potentially the next starlet to emerge from Andy Young’s growing Glasgow-based stable, shredded her lifetime best to come fifth in 4:12.57.
Muir was thwarted in the women’s 800m in Poland in a mass bolt for the line, ending up third in 2:00.34 as Benin’s Noelle Yarigo found a gap to sneak past and win in 2:00.11.
The European champion, accompanied by Reekie, now heads for Stockholm on Sunday for a second Diamond League outing.
In the men’s 800m, Guy Learmonth was bumped on the home straight and faded to ninth in his season opener as British rival Elliot Giles won out.
The fourth of Young’s group in Poland, Sol Sweeney, was eighth in the 2,000m in 5:06.26.