- Georgia Hunter Bell came third in the final of the 1500m in Nanjing on Sunday
- Hunter Bell set a new personal best which was just outside the British record
- The 31-year-old Brit’s medal matched her result at last summer’s Olympics
Georgia Hunter Bell used to sell cybersecurity software. Now she is making a career out of winning athletics hardware.
In her first global event as a professional athlete, the 31-year-old bagged a brilliant bronze medal in the 1500 metres on the last day of the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.
Hunter Bell set a new personal best of 3min 59.84sec, just outside the British record, to finish behind runaway winner Gudaf Tsegay, who clocked a championship record of 3:54.86, and another Ethiopian, Diribe Welteji.
The Brit’s medal matched her result at last summer’s Olympics, when she was on a summer sabbatical from the sales job she officially quit in September.
And her performance made amends for her disappointment at the European Indoors two weeks ago, when she was the huge favourite but only finished fourth after being disrupted by an ear infection.
‘I’m really happy, this was so important to me,’ said Hunter Bell, whose medal was Britain’s fourth in China.
Georgia Hunter Bell claimed the bronze medal in the 1500m at the World Indoor Championships
Hunter Bell set a new personal best of 3min 59.84sec, just outside the British record
‘The Europeans was the biggest loss so far in my career. I was absolutely devastated. I didn’t get out of bed the next day.
‘But the mark of being a good athlete is when it goes wrong, learning from it and coming back. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come.’
In the men’s 1500m, Neil Gourley claimed his first global medal with silver behind Norwegian superstar Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who completed a double after his 3,000m gold.
‘It feels really good,’ said the 30-year-old Scot, who finished fourth at the European Indoors. ‘I was really disappointed two weeks ago so I came here with a point to prove.’
