Jemma Reekie (December 2024)
It’s laborious to sum up Jemma Reekie’s 2024. That she did not make the Olympic 800m last was a large disappointment, however total, there have been a number of excessive factors after her first yr working with a brand new coach, Jon Bigg. The yr began effectively with a silver medal within the World Indoors at Glasgow behind Tsige Duguma. Being from Scotland, Glasgow had additional significance for her. “Glasgow is nice. I really like indoors, and I’ve had a lot enjoyable indoors and in Glasgow. I used to be so comfortable to go to Glasgow”, she recollects. “As a Scottish athlete, I may have felt loads of strain going to Glasgow as a result of it was Glasgow, and I actually needed to get a medal, however I simply had a lot enjoyable at that championship, and to stroll away with the medal was nice. We made such an epic weekend of it, and initially, after I walked off the monitor, it felt like I had misplaced the gold. However the athlete who received confirmed her class by getting an Olympic medal in Paris. Total, I’m thrilled to have gone to Glasgow and received a medal”.
It was a busy summer season, operating seven Diamond Leagues and getting on the rostrum six occasions, together with a win in Stockholm, of which she stated: “It was good to run a 1:57 from the entrance. It’s a good approach to begin the season and run constant 1:57s and know that there’s a bit extra in there”. The opposite Diamond League spotlight was London. It was an epic “British Championship” race with Keely Hodgkinson first, Jemma second, and Georgia Bell third – all three operating PBs. Jemma stated of her 1:55.61 PR: “I had COVID a few weeks in the past, so I missed a little bit of time, so I simply needed to have a strong run out right here at present. I knew if I used to be chasing after Keely, I’d run quick. I used to be happy with my place”. After operating a PR for fourth within the Tokyo Olympics, Jemma contracted Glandular Fever (mononucleosis) and struggled to regain her greatest kind. She had waited three years to set a brand new PR and was delighted.
The consistency of a win, three-second locations, two-thirds, and a fourth in Diamond leagues was pleasing, exhibiting she was able to win: “Yeah, that’s the way it feels to me. Yeah, I need to win each race, however coming within the prime three is apply moving into these medal positions, and I’m happy with the place I used to be this yr in these races. The races are nonetheless crazily good, and I believe I carried out effectively in most races this yr – simply not the massive one”. Her feedback concurrently present her satisfaction with the consistency and her frustration that the one blip was the Olympics.
She develops that frustration: “It’s straightforward to have a look at one factor, and it’s additionally like we’re people; we have now a nasty day. And if that dangerous day falls on the massive day, that’s what you’re checked out for. Clearly, there’s loads of upset after Paris, however once we walked away from it, we regarded on the season, and it’s like, proper, effectively: ‘Take Paris on the market such as you’ve received. I’ve accomplished rather well all through the entire season. For the primary time in years, that’s an enormous step ahead. And so it’s similar to you bought to have a look at the positives, however I do know everybody on the surface that simply seems on the large one”.
She had additionally run within the European Championships, a month earlier than the Olympics, coming fifth at 1500 however simply half a second from a medal. She determined to run 1500 because the 800 concerned three rounds on consecutive days – “I simply thought it was an excessive amount of for me to do at the moment with the coaching that I used to be making an attempt to do. However I additionally needed a championship expertise earlier than Paris, so I believed I may do the 1500 there. I used to be near a medal and was gutted to not stroll away from Rome with a medal, however I used to be studying in regards to the 15”.
phJemma Reekie leads, Georgia Bell on her facet, Roma 2024 EAC 1,500m last, picture by European Athletics
There are two indoor championships for European athletes in 2025, a European and a World, however Jemma shouldn’t be placing any strain on herself. With the outside World Championships in September, being in form to compete for indoor medals in February/March will not be very wise. She explains: “I’m not 100% certain. And I don’t assume I’ll do each indoor championships if I do any like. I’ll see how I’m nearer to the time and the way coaching goes. We’ve been doing a great deal of winter work, so I must sharpen up for these 800s and see how I’m doing. My essential focus is on the outside. I centered so much on Glasgow final yr with it being Glasgow. This time, I’m like, ‘Proper, I’ve received my indoor medal. Now, I simply actually need to do effectively at outside championships, and it’s such a protracted yr, with the World Champs being in September. So I’m taking the strain off indoors and need an out of doors medal. And that’s all I can take into consideration. So if it occurs, nice.
