Reekie is ready for gold run in Tokyo
COVID may have been the curse that plagued all our houses. For Jemma Reekie, the virus has done her one huge favour, providing Scotland’s middledistance star in the making with an extra 12 months to fine tune her talents in preparation for an assault on Olympic gold in Tokyo in August.
Rewind to January 2020 and the 22-year-old was still on the fringes of the global athletics radar.
A European Under-23 and junior gold medallist. But not astute enough to get out of the first round of the previous October’s world championships in Doha.
Entering 2021, it’s a different story. Two Diamond League wins to her name. A brilliant run of indoor results that saw her wrestle away three British records inside eight days.
And a quick enough time that saw Ayrshire’s young ace spend six months at the top of the 800 metres world rankings — and end the year inside the top 10 over 1500m — to underline that she’s now firmly in the elite.
‘I got a lot of experience. In 2019, I was in Under-23 events a lot. I got into more races in 2020, so I was able to practice racing more,’ she said. ‘The girls were such a high standard, they pushed me in every race.
‘I was excited if the Olympics were going to happen last year. But hopefully I am more ready for it in 2021.
‘I can see more improvements already. I’ll have more confidence after getting more races done and learning more.’
Even if gold isn’t in the script in Tokyo, Reekie is still living the dream with the globetrotting athletics career she first set her sights on when she was 10 years old.
After dashing home for Christmas for a reunion with her family, she and training partner Laura Muir will dodge the snow to head straight back to their warm weather base in South Africa this week.
With the calendar for the forthcoming indoor season still under threat from constant Covid changes, it’s doubtful either will target March’s Europeans in Poland where Muir would have the option to defend the 1500 and 3,000m titles she secured at the past two events in Glasgow and Belgrade.
But even with their coach Andy Young on hand to steer them towards an elevated peak in the summer, Reekie suggests the invite to move into Muir’s house during lockdown might have been the difference between treading water and leaping forward.
She said: ‘It’s really useful to have each other because even in the sessions that we could do in lockdown, no matter what they were, even if we couldn’t do circuits or get in the gym, we always pushed each other on.
‘Laura is amazing and world-class. I knew I could push her and she could push me, so that’s going to be a good outcome. And then just to have her there during the racing season was really nice.
‘I know if Laura’s in a race, it’s going to be high quality and it’s going to be hard.’