Jemma Reekie lands World Indoors silver medal and sets sights on Olympic glory

Scottish 800m runner says she will learn from ‘some mistakes’ after gripping final

Jemma Reekie delivered a fitting finale at the World Athletics Indoor Championships with a thrilling 800m silver on Sunday night in Glasgow.

Reekie started as the pre-race favourite but she was edged out for gold by Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma, who led from start to finish in a time of 2:01.90. Reekie was simply unable to get past and she could not match Duguma’s burst of speed down the final straight. The Renfrewshire runner ran considerably faster in both her heat and semi-final, with her time of 1:58.28 on Saturday the fastest qualifying time in the field. But Duguma was able to dictate a slower pace and, despite the roar of the home crowd, Reekie was made to settle for silver.

“I knew those girls were going to throw something at me, that they were confident and they were just better than me today,” said Reekie, 25. “I stood on that track and didn’t want anything other than the win but a first senior [world] medal, I have made some mistakes and I will learn something from it. It’s unpredictable but that is what is going to happen with all these girls running so fast and more coming through, they are going to make it unpredictable and it’s a good lesson to learn. I really wanted to walk away with a gold medal in front of this home crowd but it’s my first senior medal and I’ll take it.”

Great Britain's Jemma Reekie celebrates silver in the Women's 800m final during day three of the World Indoor Athletics Championships at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow. Picture date: Sunday March 3, 2024.

Despite her slight disappointment after running so well leading up to the final, Reekie remains in a good position for this summer’s Olympics, where she will hope to upgrade her heartbreaking fourth-place finish from the last games in Tokyo. Fellow Brit Keely Hodgkinson has taken much of the focus in the women’s 800m, which promises to be one of the events of the games with Olympic champion Athing Mu and world champion Mary Moraa also strong contenders. But Reekie will be confident she can challenge that trio after an impressive indoor season that also saw her claim the British title in a championship record time of one minute 58.24 seconds.

“I have got one [senior medal] now and I definitely want one of those Olympic ones,” she added. “This is a stepping stone.”

There was further British medal success on Sunday as the women’s 4x400m relay team took bronze with a new national record time of three minutes 26.36 seconds. The previous record was only set in qualifying that morning, but the quartet of twin sisters Laviai and Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi, and Jessie Knight went quicker again as a Femke Bol-inspired Netherlands took gold ahead of the USA. “You have to use the crowd but you also don’t want to over-cook your leg and then burn up,” said Knight. “It is about having control and belief in yourself that you know what you’re doing. It was absolutely amazing, these moments you’ll never forget as an athlete and the home crowd just tops it off. These are really special moments.”

The result also saw the Nielsen twins finish on the podium together for the first time in their careers. “I had a little cry, it is something we have dreamed of our whole careers,” said Lina. “To finally be in a healthy place, injury-free, illness-free, it is really special. It is Olympic year and I hope we can continue this in the summer.”

(L-R) Bronze medalists Jessie Knight, Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Laviai Nielsen of Team Great Britain celebrate after the Women's 4x400 Metres Relay Final.

The men’s 4x400m relay saw Belgium claim gold in a thrilling finish with the USA, whose team included sprint superstar Noah Lyles. Individual world champion Alexander Doom chased down Christopher Bailey on the last leg to finish in three minutes 2.51 seconds. There was also a world record in the women’s 60m hurdles, as Devynne Charlton took gold in 7.65 seconds. Great Britain’s Cindy Sember finished seventh. However, there was no world record for pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, who was unable to clear 6.24m but still took home another gold.

The story of the morning session was found in the women’s triple jump, as Dominica’s Thea LaFond earned her country’s first-ever world indoor gold medal with a world leading distance of 15.01m. Lafond was the only athlete at the championships from Dominica, a Caribbean island with a population of just under 74,000, and arrived in Glasgow with a support team comprised solely of her husband. But the 29-year-old delivered on her return to Glasgow, a decade since her first visit, to earn a famous gold for her country.

“The last time I was in Glasgow was 10 years ago for the Commonwealth Games, I wasn’t happy I didn’t medal, and I told myself Glasgow owed me a medal,” she said. “Little did I know! I might be a little biased right now, I love Glasgow. Maybe it’s for what I have done here or what it’s done for me. I’m a huge fan. It has been awesome, everyone has been so kind and really interested in who I am and what I’m here for.

“It is really amazing. It hasn’t really hit but I think at 2am in the morning when that jet lag is still a little weird I am going to cry like a baby, it’s going to be surreal. I am so grateful and proud of my country, I am proud of us and I am honoured to be the one to receive that first gold for my country. We are so mighty, our people are amazing and there is nothing they can’t do.”

The world’s best athletes head to Scotland for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 from 1-3 March and you can keep up to date with the latest on the World Athletics website, its associated platforms and via broadcasters around the world.