Jemma Reekie (December 2024)
It’s laborious to sum up Jemma Reekie’s 2024. That she did not make the Olympic 800m ultimate 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 completely happy to go to Glasgow”, she recollects. “As a Scottish athlete, I may have felt numerous stress going to Glasgow as a result of it was Glasgow, and I actually wished 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 bought a medal”.
It was a busy summer season, working seven Diamond Leagues and getting on the rostrum six instances, together with a win in Stockholm, of which she mentioned: “It was good to run a 1:57 from the entrance. It’s a good method 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 working PBs. Jemma mentioned 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 wished to have a stable run out right here at the moment. I knew if I used to be chasing after Keely, I’d run quick. I used to be happy with my place”. After working a PR for fourth within the Tokyo Olympics, Jemma contracted Glandular Fever (mononucleosis) and struggled to regain her greatest type. 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 wish to win each race, however coming within the high 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 take a look at one factor, and it’s additionally like we’re people; now we have a foul day. And if that dangerous day falls on the massive day, that’s what you’re checked out for. Clearly, there’s numerous upset after Paris, however once we walked away from it, we seemed on the season, and it’s like, proper, effectively: ‘Take Paris on the market such as you’ve bought. I’ve achieved very 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 take a look at the positives, however I do know everybody on the skin that simply appears to be like on the massive 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 wished a championship expertise earlier than Paris, so I assumed 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 concerning the 15”.
phJemma Reekie leads, Georgia Bell on her facet, Roma 2024 EAC 1,500m ultimate, photograph by European Athletics
There are two indoor championships for European athletes in 2025, a European and a World, however Jemma is just not placing any stress on herself. With the out of doors World Championships in September, being in form to compete for indoor medals in February/March might not be very wise. She explains: “I’m not 100% certain. And I don’t suppose 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 have to sharpen up for these 800s and see how I’m doing. My primary focus is on the outside. I centered quite a bit on Glasgow final yr with it being Glasgow. This time, I’m like, ‘Proper, I’ve bought my indoor medal. Now, I simply actually wish to do effectively at out of doors championships, and it’s such a protracted yr, with the World Champs being in September. So I’m taking the stress off indoors and need an out of doors medal. And that’s all I can take into consideration. So if it occurs, nice.
