Georgia Hunter Bell will next week be picked for the 800m and 1500m in Britain’s world championships team, all being well. But the dilemma over whether to actually contest both will only just have begun.
Not since Hunter Bell’s mentor Kelly Holmes claimed two memorable Olympic golds in 2004 has a British athlete even attempted the audacious middle-distance double at a global championships.
Should she choose the shorter event in Tokyo next month, she should line up alongside her training partner Keely Hodgkinson, who has not raced since winning Olympic gold last summer and is skipping this weekend’s UK Championships as she recovers from injury. The pair have spent much of the past fortnight together on a training camp in Portugal, with Hodgkinson due to return to action this month in Lausanne.
Assured of their places in Britain’s world championships team, all five individual Olympic medalists – Hodgkinson, Hunter Bell, Matthew Hudson-Smith, Josh Kerr and Katarina Johnson-Thompson – have opted against contesting their primary events in Birmingham this weekend.
Whether Hunter Bell’s 1500m absence is sufficient for the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, Laura Muir, to secure her place on the team is uncertain. Muir, 32, has not missed a global 1500m final for a decade, but remains on the comeback trail from serious injury.
“I tore my calf in February, but it was a really bad tear,” she said. “And then I had the longest time of my career off running probably since I started aged 12. So it’s going to take an effect.
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“I didn’t run for two months, and then another month to be able to put spikes on. So at least three months, if not four months, of compromised training.
“It’s to be expected that I’m not going to be on fire right now. But we’re getting there. I’m making big improvements week on week. If I can get on the team I think I can be in a good spot come September. But it’s just going to be competitive to get there. All I can do is go out there and give it my best. That’s all I can do this year.”
Five events to watch
Women’s pole vault, final 3.15pm Saturday Former world indoor champion Molly Caudery unexpectedly failed to clear a height when a favourite for an Olympic medal last year, but is ranked No 2 in the world this year.
Men’s 100m, final 7.20pm Saturday World medalist Zharnel Hughes faces last year’s UK champion Louie Hinchliffe and Eugene Amo-Dadzie, who has run 9.99 seconds this summer.
Women’s 200m, final 3.39pm Sunday Former world champion Dina Asher-Smith remains the woman to beat, but will expect a tough challenge from Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita.
Women’s 400m, final 4.06pm Sunday World indoor champion Amber Anning looks a class above, with Yemi Mary John, Laviai Nielsen and Victoria Ohuruogu expected to do battle in behind.
Men’s 800m, final 4.13pm Sunday Perhaps the race of the weekend with five men possessing the qualification standard, headed by the Olympic finalist Max Burgin.
