2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships: GB’s Gemma Leakey wins silver medal in 800m

Britain’s Gemma Leakey said she had learned a “good lesson” before the Paris Olympics after winning silver in the 800m at the World Indoor Championships in front of her home crowd, earning her first major medal.

The 25-year-old Scot was backed by enthusiastic cheers in Glasgow but initially appeared disappointed after clocking a time of 2 minutes 2.72 seconds, just short of Ethiopian champion Tsige Duguma.

This came after Britain’s women’s 4x400m relay quartet, including twin sisters Laviai and Lina Nielsen, won bronze.

Ama Pipi and Jesse Knight brought GB a national record of 3:26.36.

Leakey did not initially show much emotion, despite winning the landmark medal he had sought for years.

“To be honest, when I stood on that line I was only going to accept the gold medal,” Leakey told BBC Scotland.

“But I have to put it in perspective. This was my first senior medal and it was a difficult race. They had clearly done their research and it was a good lesson for me. We were able to practice some good things for the summer.”

“I wanted that gold medal and that’s how I’ve always been. I kept saying, ‘Be happy, be happy.’ I wasn’t ready for anything.”

In the women’s 1500m race, Georgia Bell, a rapidly rising British athlete, narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing 4th with a time of 4:03.47, but Ethiopia’s Freweini Haile won the gold medal.

Great Britain’s Levy Walcott-Nolan was sixth in 4:04.60, while Adam Fogg was 14th in the men’s final with a time of 3:43.81.

In the women’s 60m hurdles final, Cindy Cember finished seventh in 7.92 seconds, while Devin Charlton of the Bahamas set a world record in 7.65.

Leakey, who missed out on a medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics by 0.09 seconds and finished fifth at last summer’s outdoor world championships, was on a mission to win the first major medal of her career for her home country.

She beat Ethiopia’s Habitum Alem and 2022 medalist Halima Nakaai to become the fastest to reach Sunday’s final and staked her claim as one of the gold medal favorites.

However, it was Dougma, a relative newcomer to the event, who controlled the race, starting at a slow pace and holding off Leakey in the final 400 meters.

It’s been almost 12 months since Leakey parted ways with coach Andy Young and she is now benefiting from a new approach under the guidance of John Bigg and former Olympic 400m hurdles champion Sally Gunnell.

Although he was initially disappointed not to win gold here, he is now enjoying every step of his journey to Paris and showed his form by setting a winning record in the British Indoor 800m in February. .

With a boost of confidence following this breakthrough success, Leakey has set her sights on challenging the top 800m trio of Keeley Hodgkinson, Ashing Mu and Mary Moller at the Paris Olympics.

“The margin is very good. You can’t make mistakes, but I made some mistakes in that race and I have to take them away and improve,” Leakey said.

“Right now I really want an Olympic medal and I know I have work to do to get there. I’m really excited for Paris. It’s really great to be here and do this on my home track.”

Not only did Raviai and Lina Nielsen finally achieve their childhood dream of representing GB together, they also helped GB win a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay to mark the special occasion. Ta.

Lina missed the chance to compete with her sister at the 2017 European Indoor Championships due to injury, and then suffered a severe relapse of multiple sclerosis (a disease that affects both sisters) before the 2022 World Championships. ) suffered from.

Laviai, who crossed the line ahead of Lina in the 400m one-two at last month’s British Championships, finally achieved that goal in Glasgow on Sunday night after finishing third in the first leg and handing over to her sister. It became a reality.

They shared a look of disbelief as Knight crossed the line, then shared a hug that was as meaningful as the bronze medal that had just been confirmed.

“I just came through the media zone and I cried a little bit,” an emotional Lina Nielsen told British Athletics.

“It’s something we’ve all dreamed of throughout our careers. I’ve had a lot of setbacks that have thwarted that dream.

“I’m finally healthy, no injuries, no illnesses, and we were able to come together – we all ran really good splits – it’s really special.

“This is an Olympic year and we hope to continue that progress into the summer. It’s not about us, it’s about the whole team. We are British record holders.” Laviai Nielsen “I’m really proud of her. To be honest, she’s had a lot of setbacks in her life,” he said.

There was some drama in the third leg of the Phi Phi, with the British rider trying to force his way past Jamaica’s Chalokee Young, but Chalokee Young dropped the baton when the pair were together, leaving Britain in clear third place.

At the front of the race, Femke Boll of the Netherlands held off the Americans on the final leg and won in 3:25.07, earning her second gold medal of the tournament.

In any competition in which Armand Duplantis participates, there is always a buzz around him. The 24-year-old has won everything there is to win, currently holding every major title and breaking the pole vault world record seven times.

However, he still hadn’t reached his normal height in 2024, and it took until his third and most recent appearance to surpass 6 meters.

Despite struggling to find his rhythm in Sunday’s final, Duplantis once again won gold as the only athlete to clear 5.95 meters.

He continued on and cleared 6.05m on his final attempt, but the world record 6.24m proved to be out of reach.

Noah Lyles, who became the first athlete since Usain Bolt to win three world sprint titles at the 2015 Budapest Games, hinted earlier this year that he could be aiming for a historic fourth sprint gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

To that end, the 26-year-old American will add the 4x400m relay to his goals, following on from his success in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay last summer.

And on Sunday night, Lyles ran the third leg of the 4x400m for the United States, bringing that ambition one step closer to reality.

However, on Friday, Christian Coleman won gold in the 60m, but was once again content with silver as Belgium’s Alexander Doom edged out Christopher Bailey in a dramatic finish.

Following Lyles’ participation, former American world 100m champion Fred Curley accused USA Track and Field of “favoritism” and “puppetry”.

Reacting to the comments in Glasgow, Lyles said: “He may be here, but he’s not here. If he’s upset about it, come out here.”

“I wanted to do my best because I was new and had never done the 4x400m professionally.

“I wanted to make sure that they believed in me and that if I went to Paris I would be in the final.” [team]. ”