Georgia Bell was a British bronze medallist in the 1500m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, but just 12 months ago, when Paris was still a distant dream, she was crowned duathlon world champion in the 30-34 age category at the Ibiza Multisport World Championships. With multisport extravaganza Townsville 2024 getting underway this week, the World Triathlon Podcast speaks to her as she reflects on a whirlwind year that has seen her leap from age groups on the blue carpet to the Stade de France and then onto the world's biggest stage, and why her love of cycling remains intact.
“I guess the transition from triathlon to track has been a bit interesting. I was a track runner when I was younger, then during COVID I started cycling and realised I could do triathlons without swimming, which is very appealing to me… I don't like swimming.”
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Georgia Bell was born in Paris and currently lives in South London. At the age of 15, she was Britain's top runner in the 1500m. After winning an athletics scholarship to university in California, she moved to the US to pursue her dreams on the NCAA circuit, but the amount of training and racing exacerbated injury problems, her running times dropped and her love for the sport faded. She soon hung up her cleats, perhaps for good.
A return to Paris and victory at the Ibiza Multisport World Championships sealed her track destiny. After clocking her first sub-four-minute time at a pre-Olympic Diamond League meet in the French capital, she beat it again to claim bronze at a packed Stade de France on the final Saturday of the Olympics. And for a woman who still proudly calls herself “Duathlete” on her Instagram handle, there's no doubt where some of that secret power comes from.
“When you're cycling on the road with a group, you might be riding for three or four hours and you don't want to fall off. You're in pain, but you just have to bear it. That's a good mindset to have.”
“I honestly think there must be a connection between the results I'm getting now and me running the fastest I've ever been. And I've been cycling 100 miles a week for the last three or four years. I've never done that in the past, so I think all my endurance comes from cycling and it's what keeps me injury-free. Cycling is never off my program. So yeah, I'm very happy. I love cycling.”
As well as discovering cycling, during the pandemic Georgia has rediscovered her love of running, setting fast parkrun times and reconnecting with her coach from when she was an exciting teenage talent, Trevor Painter, who coaches a Wigan group that includes Paris 2024 800m gold medallist Keeley Hodgkinson.
“A big goal for me was to make the (GB Duathlon) team at the World Championships last year so I was really happy to win my age group on the day. I never expected to be back on the track at the Olympics a year later.”
“After that it was like, 'Okay, what do I do next?' I then started training a bit more with Trevor Painter's group, a Manchester-based group, and I was seeing signs that I was getting a lot better. I was able to keep up with Keeley Hodgkinson and it made me think maybe I should actually focus on spending a bit more time watching the tracks.”
Anyone who saw Bell's incredible final, where he ran 3 minutes 52 seconds to win the bronze medal, knew they saw something truly special, but a return to the multisport world or even duathlon in the future doesn't seem far-fetched.
“When you have all the athletes in the races, and you have huge stadiums and a great atmosphere, you know you can run faster than you ever thought possible. The running calendar next year is interesting because the World Championships have been postponed from mid to late September, so I'm actually looking to do some cycling in between. I'd love to do another duathlon, but I'd also like to climb more Tour de France stages. And to everyone competing in the age group championships this week, good luck – have fun.”
Provided by RedCircle
