Center-distance runner talks in regards to the work she is placing in to revolutionise her working fashion as she seems to maintain tempo on the sharp finish of 800m working
Jemma Reekie has spent the latest previous attempting 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 seems 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 seems again on 2024 – a yr 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 evident exception, nonetheless. Solely reaching the semi-finals on the Paris Olympics fell a way in need of 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 a whole lot of positives from 2024 and we discovered loads but it surely was nonetheless onerous not attaining what I wished to realize,” she says. “Paris was actually onerous. It was my second Olympics and the second Olympics I went to when a medal would have been a practical aim. Not even making the ultimate was a very difficult one but it surely’s one thing that my entire staff and myself have discovered from.
“It’s solely been a yr working with Jon and we’ve acquired a lot to stay up for. I’ve proven bodily that I can do what we have to do and extra. It’s identical to I want extra time.”
Jemma Reekie (Getty)
There have certainly been large indicators that the coaching work is paying off. After a tough break 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 wonderful,” she says. “We do much more velocity work, much more technical work and I’ve modified my working approach. I used to heel strike and, wanting 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 excellent, but when I wished to have the ability to compete with the ladies which are working crazily quick then I needed to change that working approach as a result of it was simply slowing me down and you’ll solely get a lot quicker with it.
“Hopefully I’ll maintain progressing a bit higher once more this yr, however we’ve solely had a yr to do all these items, and it’s been onerous work, however I feel it’ll be value 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 gymnasium work than ever. I really feel like I’m coaching increasingly more usually, however I’m getting actually good high quality stuff performed 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 via accidents. It’s inspiring to see these individuals and I feel that’s what I’ve acquired from this group – a lot inspiration and a lot pleasure out of coaching.
“Jon’s simply acquired a lot time for his athletes and he’s acquired the proper dimension of group in order that we get the correct amount of time and a spotlight. Jon gained’t allow you to down. He’s at all times engaged on how one can make you higher. He’s at all times there and attempting his hardest to make you the most effective that you could be. He provides me a lot confidence as a result of what we’re doing is working. He explains every part 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 file, meant a fantastic deal to Reekie for quite a few 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 reduction as effectively as a result of I really hadn’t run one since I acquired glandular fever a couple of years in the past,” she says. “It was a giant confidence enhance and since we’ve been doing a lot new coaching it was like: ‘Okay, that is working, we’re going the fitting route’. That was a giant breakthrough and affirmation we’re doing the fitting factor.”
Reekie is a former British record-holder herself and he or she has been given sufficient reminders in latest 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 yr reveals I’m nonetheless up there with these instances. Now it’s going to be about getting extra consistency and acting at these large races the best way I must.”
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 out of doors 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 will probably be totally centered on for the approaching yr. 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 assume it helps my 800m and possibly later I could possibly be doing the 1500m in addition to 800m, however I nonetheless assume I’ve a lot to offer within the 800m and a lot to enhance on that I’m positively going to concentrate on the 800m for the following Olympic cycle.”
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