Another Olympics, another British teenage 800m sensation. Three years ago it was the 19‑year‑old Keely Hodgkinson who burst on to the global stage with a stunning Olympic silver. Now there is an even younger successor, the 17-year-old Phoebe Gill.
It was only last month that Gill’s cover was broken when she clocked the second-fastest under-18 time in history, behind only a highly suspect Chinese mark from 1993. If anyone in the athletics world had somehow missed that, her astonishing performance in claiming a first British title on Sunday will surely have corrected that.
With a confidence belying her meagre years, Gill dominated an illustrious 800m field that included the Olympic finalists Jemma Reekie and Alexandra Bell. Seizing control with more than half the race remaining, Gill dictated from the front with such authority that no one was able to lay a glove on her. Pulling ever clearer as the finish line approached, she triumphed in 1min 58.66sec, with Reekie trailing in her wake for silver. Both will now run at the Paris Olympics, alongside Hodgkinson, who contested the 400m in Manchester.
It is a remarkable ascent for someone who raced in mismatching kit. That, like so many aspects of her life, is due to change imminently, with a kit sponsor to be unveiled before she lines up in Paris.
“It’s a whirlwind,” Gill said. “I still feel like I’m in a dream. I can’t think of another way to describe it. It’s just unbelievable that this is happening.
“It’s crazy because these are all my idols that I’ve looked up to and watched their races for so long. To think that I’ve been racing with them. It’s just such an achievement for myself.”
Watching from the sidelines, Hodgkinson was suitably impressed. “I don’t want to put any pressure on her, but I think she is definitely up there with making the [Olympic] final if it goes the right way,” she said. “She kind of reminds me of myself.”
There was drama in the men’s 800m with the world 1500m champion Josh Kerr falling in the home straight as Ben Pattison took gold in 1min 45.49sec. Kerr, who was uninjured, is assured of hisOlympic place over 1500m.
Dina Asher-Smith ran a British championships record of 22.18sec to win the women’s 200m ahead of Daryll Neita; Matthew Hudson‑Smith took the men’s race in 20.34sec. Amber Anning and Charlie Dobson showed why they are being touted as Olympic finalists with comprehensive 400m wins; Neil Gourley edged George Mills for the 1500m title.
There was a shock in the women’s 1500m where the Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir finished second behind Georgia Bell. And Katarina Johnson-Thompson clocked 23.20sec as she tested herself over 200m – her fastest time since winning world heptathlon gold in 2019.
