Georgia Bell pounces to snatch thrilling 1500 metres bronze for Great Britain

Great Britain’s Georgia Bell collected 1500 metres bronze and set a new national record on the final day of track action in a race won by Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon in Olympic record time.

Bell patiently executed her race and started to pounce on the back stretch in the final lap.

Laura Muir, the Scottish Tokyo 2020 silver medallist, started to close in as the leaders approached the final bend as the two British women sat fourth and fifth.

Bell, crowned British champion at the distance earlier this summer, found another gear in the final 100 metres to claim her first Olympic medal in a personal best 3: 52.61.

Kipyegon won in 3:51.29. Australian Jessica Hull collected silver and Muir came fifth.

World record holder Kipyegon led the way from 1100 metres, while Bell’s new national record was five one hundredths of a second shy of equalling the silver medallist.

A podium finish is another remarkable milestone for the 30-year-old, who was a prodigious junior runner but left the sport entirely, and had taken up a nine-to-five job in cybersecurity sales.

It was only during the Covid-19 lockdown when – just to get out of the house – Bell really started running again.

After a few Parkruns Bell realised she still had her speed and called up old coach Trevor Painter, who also looks after Paris 800 metres champion Keely Hodgkinson, and started to take the sport seriously again.

In a fairy-tale twist, Bell was also born in Paris.

The morning of her maiden Olympic final, Bell wrote on Instagram: “I truly feel like it’s all meant to be and that my whole life has led to this moment.”