Center-distance runner talks concerning the work she is placing in to revolutionise her working type as she appears to maintain tempo on the sharp finish of 800m working
Jemma Reekie has spent the current previous making an attempt to take the brakes off. Since transferring from her native Scotland to Brighton to start out working with coach Jon Bigg, the world indoor silver medallist has zoned in on altering the very manner she runs as she appears to maintain tempo with the ever advancing requirements of girls’s 800m working.
Given the work concerned in altering from being a heel striker to a extra forefoot runner, she appears again on 2024 – a 12 months that introduced that world indoor medal in entrance of a house crowd in Glasgow in addition to a Diamond League win in Stockholm and a reassuring and confidence-boosting PB in London – with some satisfaction. There’s one obvious exception, nevertheless. Solely reaching the semi-finals on the Paris Olympics fell a way wanting the expectations of an athlete who had solely simply missed out on a medal on the Tokyo Video games three years beforehand.
“I feel we had lots of positives from 2024 and we discovered rather a lot however it was nonetheless arduous not reaching what I needed to realize,” she says. “Paris was actually arduous. It was my second Olympics and the second Olympics I went to when a medal would have been a sensible aim. Not even making the ultimate was a very difficult one however it’s one thing that my entire staff and myself have discovered from.
“It’s solely been a 12 months working with Jon and we’ve obtained a lot to sit up for. I’ve proven bodily that I can do what we have to do and extra. It’s similar to I would like extra time.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
There have certainly been massive indicators that the coaching work is paying off. After a tough cut up from long-time mentor Andy Younger, Reekie moved south in 2023 and is relishing the prospect to revolutionise how she goes about her work.
“Becoming a member of Jon has been superb,” she says. “We do much more pace work, much more technical work and I’ve modified my working method. I used to heel strike and, trying on the manner I used to run, it’s loopy how a lot heel strikes are principally placing on the brakes for the entire race. We’ve modified that to now working on the entrance of my foot more often than not. It’s nonetheless removed from good, but when I needed to have the ability to compete with the ladies which might be working crazily quick then I needed to change that working method as a result of it was simply slowing me down and you’ll solely get a lot quicker with it.
“Hopefully I’ll hold progressing a bit higher once more this 12 months, however we’ve solely had a 12 months to do all these items, and it’s been arduous work, however I feel it’ll be price it in the long term.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
She provides: “I’m nonetheless doing 1500m coaching, however extra particularly 800m coaching, and I’m doing extra fitness center work than ever. I really feel like I’m coaching an increasing number of typically, however I’m getting actually good high quality stuff achieved and the set-up they’ve down right here has simply been actually good.
“The group that Jon has created is nice to work with – coaching with the likes of Elliot Giles, who’s so skilled in what he’s doing and he’s been by accidents. It’s inspiring to see these folks and I feel that’s what I’ve obtained from this group – a lot inspiration and a lot pleasure out of coaching.
“Jon’s simply obtained a lot time for his athletes and he’s obtained the proper measurement of group in order that we get the correct quantity of time and a spotlight. Jon gained’t allow you to down. He’s at all times engaged on find out how to make you higher. He’s at all times there and making an attempt his hardest to make you the perfect you could be. He offers me a lot confidence as a result of what we’re doing is working. He explains every thing to me and I’m studying a lot.”
Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie (Jan Figueroa)
That non-public greatest on the London Diamond League, coming second to Keely Hodgkinson’s British document, meant an incredible deal to Reekie for quite a lot of causes. Her earlier greatest had been the 1:56.90 that had seen her end simply 0.09 seconds away from bronze in Tokyo however, in the interim, sickness had stopped her in her tracks.
“It was actually thrilling to get a PB and a aid as effectively as a result of I really hadn’t run one since I obtained glandular fever just a few years in the past,” she says. “It was an enormous confidence enhance and since we’ve been doing a lot new coaching it was like: ‘Okay, that is working, we’re going the proper path’. That was an enormous breakthrough and affirmation we’re doing the proper factor.”
Reekie is a former British record-holder herself and he or she has been given sufficient reminders in current months that she belongs on the elite stage.
“The extent of 800m working simply now could be insane,” she admits. “1:57 now is sort of a new two-minute barrier so my 1:55 this 12 months exhibits I’m nonetheless up there with these occasions. Now it’s going to be about getting extra consistency and acting at these massive races the way in which I have to.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
On the time of writing Reekie was nonetheless deciding on whether or not or to not do an indoor season.
With the outside World Championships going down in mid-September, there’s a wariness about competing in February whereas aiming to peak seven months later.
There’s certainty, although, about which distance she can be totally targeted on for the approaching 12 months. Whereas she competed within the 1500m on the 2024 European Championships, the 26-year-old says: “I’ll nonetheless be working 1500m races as I actually do suppose it helps my 800m and perhaps later I could possibly be doing the 1500m in addition to 800m, however I nonetheless suppose I’ve a lot to offer within the 800m and a lot to enhance on that I’m undoubtedly going to deal with the 800m for the subsequent Olympic cycle.”
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