Georgia Hunter Bell will compete at the Grand Slam Track in Philadelphia on Saturday 31 May & Sunday 1 June, organisers have announced.
Georgia Hunter Bell will compete in the ‘short distance’ category at the next Grand Slam Track meeting. She will compete in the 800m and 1500m in Philadelphia in two weeks. It will be an outdoor season opener for the Olympic bronze medallist and British Record holder, following an indoor season that included bronze at the World Indoor Championships.
Last year was a special one for Georgia. Of course the highlight was winning bronze at the Olympic Games, improving the British Record to 3:52.61 in the process. She also ran well over two laps, including 1:56.28 at the London Diamond League. Georgia competed at seven Diamond Leagues; four over 800m and four over 1500m. More on the mathematical discrepancy shortly. Not bad for someone who started 2024 with respective PBs of 4:06.20 and 2:03.38.
Whilst the event format is something new to Georgia, the concept of two races in two days is not. She completed the 800m-1500m double at last year’s Diamond League final in Brussels. First came the 800m where she finished second in 1:57.50, with the 1500m the next day. She finished seventh over 3.75 laps in 3:58.95.
The event order is switched this time round. The 1500m takes place on Friday (31 May) at 18:00 local time (23:00 UK time). This is followed by the 800m at 15:59 local time (20:59 UK time) on Saturday (1 June).
Strong Field
She will face ‘Racers’ Jess Hull, Nikki Hiltz, Deribe Welteji and Mary Moraa, plus Nia Akins and Isabella Whittaker as fellow ‘Challengers’. One further challenger is to be announced.
Australian Jess Hull joined Georgia on the Olympic podium after winning silver. The pair raced each other five times last year, with Jess finishing ahead on each occasion. Impressively, however, is the fact they first raced each other eight years ago, at the Stanford Invitational. Jess finished ahead in that race also.
Fellow Brit Josh Kerr is a ‘Racer’ in the men’s short distance category.
Other Races
Other confirmed races for Georgia include the 800m at the Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday 15 June. There she will race Olympic Champion Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie. She will also contest the 1500m at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday 5 July. It will be an Olympic podium reunion, with Faith Kipyegon and Jess Hull also confirmed.
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Source: fastrunning.com