The key change helping Georgia Hunter Bell step out of Keely Hodgkinson's shadow
Olympic 1500m bronze medalist Georgia Hunter Bell is gearing up for her first Diamond League appearance of the 2025 season in Stockholm on Sunday night.
Outside of the distance where she dazzled the Parisian crowds and broke Laura Muir 's British record in the process, Hunter Bell will instead line up for an 800m.
The 31-year-old will attack the shorter distance, which has become synonymous with her training partner, and Olympic champion, Keely Hodgkinson.
Hunter Bell is joined by compatriot Jemma Reekie to take on 800m world champion and the No 1-ranked athlete Mary Moraa.
Hunter Bell's talent in the 1,500m is already well known, but she has been making her mark across the shorter distance over the past year, too.
With a PB under her belt from last summer and Hodgkinson sidelined with another injury setback, this could be the season for Hunter Bell to rewrite expectations and step out of Hodgkinson's shadow.
Her unconventional journey is one of resilience. Hunter Bell was a high-achieving runner at youth level, but a stagnant period due to injury saw the Briton's passion for the sport dwindle.
She took a five-year hiatus after college, pursuing a corporate career in cybersecurity, only to rekindle her love for running during the Covid pandemic.
Now a full-time professional track star, she has built a schedule consisting of cross-training, altitude camps and full-time track focus, benefiting from the same infrastructure that has helped Hodgkinson conquer the sport.
Team GB's golden girl has already set the bar high, but Hunter Bell seems to thrive on a challenge.
The Paris-born runner set an 800m PB of 1:56.28 at the London Diamond League last year, finishing behind just Hodgkinson and Reekie for an all-British podium.
This season will be the optimal chance for Hunter Bell to leverage the same mindset that propelled Hodgkinson from a silver medal in Tokyo to the golden crown four years later.
Full-time training has allowed her to finally commit to lifting her power on the track. Continuity and consistency over this season will be vital for her to build on last year's explosive breakthrough.
After opening up on dealing with body shaming and online abuse following her Olympic fairytale, Hunter Bell has grown mentally stronger and ready to take the next step as a serial medal winner or gold medalist in a global championship.
'I have had to get quite a thick skin quite quickly, ever since last summer,' she said.
'There is a really dark side of social media where people write things about you, your body, how you look, what they think of you, your performance.'
Developing a champion's mindset and coming off social media is key as she plans to distance herself from the 'underdog' title.
She told PA news agency: 'Everyone else has their expectations and that's great, but I'm more, I don't want to just have one great year and fall off.'
She finished third overall on her Grand Slam Track debut two weeks ago and is now considered a top contender for major events.
She has also teased a potential event double at the upcoming World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
So a strong performance this summer, in both events, could place her firmly in contention to upgrade her Olympic medal at LA2028 and perhaps even challenge Hodgkinson in her preferred event.
But to get there, she needs clean execution, tactical maturity, and the mental frame of a winner. If she can put all three together in Stockholm with a maiden Diamond League victory over for grabs, then the M11 Track Club, led by Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, could have another superstar on their hands.
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