A year ago, Jemma Reekie was broken. Last night, she finally broke her medal duck.
What a turnaround it has been for the Scottish runner. And what a thrill she gave her home crowd here in Glasgow, even if she was not quite able to emulate the gold of her compatriot Josh Kerr the previous night.
In the build-up to this meeting, Reekie opened up on her struggles of last season, when a bout of glandular fever and a split from her coach Andy Young left her ‘broken’, ‘terrified’ and ‘mentally frazzled’.
Reekie was on the floor. But at the Emirates Arena, she was standing proudly on the podium after winning a silver medal in the 800metres – her first gong in a career of near misses.
Yes, the 25-year-old had wanted the gold in Glasgow, especially after qualifying fastest for the final. But while she ultimately never got close to challenging Ethiopian Tsige Duguma, Reekie’s silver lining came with a run of 2min 2.72sec.
Jemma Reekie won silver in the 800m at the World Indoor Championship in Glasgow on Sunday
The Scot qualified fastest for the final but ultimately never got close to challenging Ethiopian Tsige Duguma
‘I was in a horrible place this time last year,’ admitted Reekie. ‘So, if you had told me 12 months ago, I would walk away with a silver, I’d have been very happy.
‘It’s not good enough for me. I only wanted the gold and I made some big mistakes. But I’ve got to take it as my first medal. I’m not buzzing right now but when I see my coach, I’m sure he’ll tell me to be buzzing.’
It was Reekie’s best result since her fourth place at the Olympics in 2021, when she was beaten by her younger British team-mate Keely Hodgkinson. She has since finished fifth in European, Commonwealth and world finals.
Following her turbulent time off the track, Reekie has set about rebuilding her career over the past 12 months, relocating to Brighton to work under Jon Bigg and his wife Sally Gunnell.
The move rekindled her love for the sport and she felt the love of the Scottish crowd on Sunday night.
‘This is a big stepping stone ahead of the summer,’ added Reekie. ‘I was a completely different athlete this time last year and the work Jon and Sally have done behind the scenes has been unbelievable.
‘It’s taken an army to get me back to where I am today and I can’t thank them enough.’
Reekie earned Britain’s second medal of the night – and their fourth of these championships – after Laviai and Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Jessie Knight won bronze in the women’s 4x400m relay with a national record, aided by Jamaica dropping the baton on the third leg.
Reekie however insisted she had made ‘big msitakes’ in the race in missing out on the gold that she so craved
Britain’s Georgia Bell, who works full-time in cyber security, missed out on a podium place on her international debut when she finished fourth in the 1500m.
Sprint sensation Noah Lyles was a surprise pick in the USA men’s 4x400m team, but could only claim a second silver of his weekend as Belgium’s Alexander Doom pipped Christopher Bailey on the line.
Swedish superstar Mondo Duplantis survived a scare to defend his world indoor pole vault title, while Deynne Charlton of the Bahamas bettered her own world record to win the women’s 60m hurdles.
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Jemma Reekie wins 800m silver at World Indoor Championships to break her medal duck but claims ‘I made some big mistakes’ as the Scot insists ‘I only wanted the gold’
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