JEMMA Reekie admitted she is “heartbroken” at just missing out on an Olympic medal but British rival Keely Hodgkinson’s fears the Scot’s response will be to come out with all guns blazing and shoot the duo to fresh heights.
While Reekie was nursing her wounds from coming fourth in Tuesday’s 800 metres final, the 19-year-old from Wigan was picking up her silver medal and basking in swiping away Kelly Holmes’ British record.
“It shows the depth we have right now,” said Hodgkinson who was denied gold by American teenager Athing Mu. “And how amazing the world is at the minute over 800m. It's only going to push us on.”
And she is expecting Reekie’s response to propel her onwards to an even more ferocious medal chase at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
She said: “Jemma's still got years ahead of her. I had so much sympathy because I could tell how much she wanted a medal. I didn't realise she hadn’t. I thought she had.
“The disappointment Jemma will face now will make her an even stronger athlete that she already is. God knows what that comeback is going to bring. She'll definitely be gearing up for Paris.
“But I think it's great because it's going to push me on, it's going to push Alex Bell on, it's going to push the younger generation below me on, thinking we've got this age group to come into. So it's going to be good. Jemma has definitely got a bright future ahead of her.”
Double gold medallist Sebastian Coe dubbed the new sensation’s run as “pitch perfect” after admiring the final from up close in Tokyo.
And he’s warned that Reekie and Laura Muir have a real fight on their hands to retain their duopoly now that Hodgkinson has announced herself to the world.
“The difference from doing this out there and on a one-off occasion is like stepping up from non-league football to the England team,” the World Athletics president said. “It is a massive, massive jump and she has made it.
“I thought her performance in making it through the semi-final was really smart. You know 800 is the most complicated distance on the track. One mistake you are toast. But what she did in the opening round was smart, what she did in the semi was also in the right place, and then she didn't panic in the final.
“We have all seen Mu and she is incredibly talented, but to say they are both 19 and mastering that... it says a lot for some of the policies we have adopted here that we have that kind of race and those people coming through.”
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