Image source, Getty Images
- author, Harry Poole
- role, BBC Sports Reporter
Georgia Bell was watching the Olympics from the comfort of her own home and imagining what ifs, but she could never have foreseen what was to come.
It was only three years ago, around the time of the Tokyo Olympics, that Bell started enjoying running again.
On television, the athletes she had once competed against and defeated were realizing their dreams on the sport's biggest stage.
But it was a dream Bell had given up on long ago.
“When I retired after university it was clear I hadn't reached my full potential so it wasn't a happy ending. There was still something left but I thought it would stay that way forever,” Bell, 30, told BBC Sport.
“I had no idea a trip like this existed.”
Bell's talent was clear when he won the English Schools 800 metres in 2008, and his future looked bright, but both physically and mentally, those early expectations proved unsustainable.
By the time she arrived in Tokyo, her boots had been out for four years, but there was still a sense of unfinished business.
The feeling that her potential was untapped began to gain momentum when her mother showed her on a screen pictures of past races where she had competed against British Olympians.
“I got back into running and my mum showed me pictures of me racing with Katie Snowden and Alexandra Bell when we were younger,” Bell explains.
“I remember watching them at the Olympics and thinking, 'I bet I could beat them. They're up there and I'm not doing anything.'”
“I was super happy for them, they obviously put in a lot of work to get there, but I was also a little nostalgic about what could have been.
“I never thought I'd be able to compete in the next Olympics, but at least it motivated me to get up and go for a run.”
Bell, now a European silver medallist who works full time in cybersecurity, will make her Olympic debut in Paris, beating two-time world medallist Laura Muir to win the 1500m for Britain and qualify.
Her Olympic preparations continue this weekend with Muir, Snowden and Kenya's Olympic gold medallist Faith Kipyegon competing in the Paris Diamond League, which will be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app from 3pm BST on Sunday.
Image source, Getty Images
None of this was even a consideration in 2021. In fact, the Olympics only seemed realistic six months ago, when she came close to qualifying times during the indoor season.
Due to repeated injuries and subsequent stagnation, Bell lost his love for the sport after moving to the United States.
His focus on long-distance running led to one stress fracture after another, and each setback brought him closer to retirement, until he finally decided to retire in 2017.
“I wasn't having fun and, if I'm being hard on myself, I wasn't very good at it anymore,” Bell said.
“Taking a break from the sport was the best thing for me. I was mentally and physically exhausted.”
“But over time I realised I actually love running. During lockdown I looked forward to going for runs and quickly started to see improvements.”
Despite being away for five years, it didn't take Bell long to rediscover his latent talent.
Juggling work with personal training and seeing unexpected rapid progress at parkrun, she got in touch with her former coach, Trevor Painter.
Painter, who, along with his wife, former world 800m medallist Jenny Meadows, guided British star Keeley Hodgkinson to the brink of global success, often referred to Bell as “the one who missed out”.
“When I called him he said he knew the potential was there but neither of us expected it to progress so quickly or that we'd make it to the Olympics, and yet here we are,” Bell said.
“Here” comes just days after Bell beat Olympic silver medallist Muir to win her first British Outdoor Championships title and secure a place in the British team, an achievement she described as “a dream come true”.
Grateful to have had the summer off work to pursue his Olympic dream, Bell – who lives in London but travels to Manchester every two weeks to train with a group of painters, including Hodgkinson – is making the most of the opportunity.
Despite wounds from her spikes during the qualifying rounds festering and leaving her with difficulty walking, Bell won silver at the European Championships, her first major senior medal, giving her the confidence to “push through even when things don't go our way” as she prepares for the biggest moment of her unconventional career.
Her immediate goal is to become the first person to run sub-four minutes for 1500m at the Paris Diamond League, which would give her extra confidence before returning to the French capital later this month.
What lies ahead there and beyond remains an exciting unknown as she continues to explore her potential, but for now, Bell says the plan remains to return to work after the Olympics.
“If you get to the final there's always the possibility of something special happening,” Bell said of her Olympic ambitions.
“It's not going to be easy to qualify. Everyone says Olympic qualifying is the worst race of their life. But in the major finals I've been in, I felt like I had a great chance.”
She added about her long-term plans: “The plan is to [to work] But I'm having the best time of my life right now.
“Obviously, you never know what's going to happen this summer. I'm really enjoying it and I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on it.”
