Olympic hero Georgia Bell on duathlon roots and Wanamaker Mile success

Former Age Group duathlon star Georgia Bell continues to add to her impressive resumé.

Securing Olympic bronze in the 1500 metres in Paris in August, the former University of California-Berkley star, who claimed the Duathlon World Championship crown in 2023 in Ibiza, has become a full-time professional athlete for the first time and began her campaign with a dramatic win in the Wanamaker Mile on Saturday.

The New York based event, a prestigious indoor mile race for elite distance runners held annually in the Big Apple, had previously been won by fellow Olympians Laura Muir and Hannah England – the former a silver medallist in Tokyo in 2021.

Wanamaker Mile success

And British star Bell bested a 13-person field in the race recording a time of 4:23:36. Sitting mid-division for the majority of the race, Bell rallied round the outside of the final bend before out-sprinting the American pair of Heather MacLean and Nikki Hiltz.

Reacting on her Instagram account, the 31-year-old said: “Toooo much fun!🥇Wanamaker Mile at @millrosegames A bucket list race for me. So grateful to be a part of this historic event and add my name to THE trophy .”

It has been a whirlwind 12 months for the for duathlon star who competed at the World Athletics Indoor Championship, the Diamond League, the European Athletics Championships and the Paris Olympic Games.

After winning a bronze medal in the Olympics, Bell took a sabbatical from her career in cyber security to focus full-time on her athletics career heading into 2025.

Lockdown rejuvenation

A promising runner in her youth, Bell earned herself a scholarship at the University of California-Berkley. However, injuries and a bit of self doubt led her to give up the sport.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, lockdown got her moving again.

“There was nothing else to do, I just got back into running again and found that the fitness came back really quickly,” Bell told the British Triathlon YouTube channel in a video embedded below.

“I got back in touch with my coach, added in cycling and found actually I was better than I used to be and decided to get back into elite sport.”

Duathlon was her first port of call, competing as an age group athlete.

“Swimming is pretty much a no for me, so duathlon was something I didn’t really know was a sport, but I had got into cycling and really enjoyed running, so I thought I could mix the two, I thought I’d be pretty decent at that.

“I found out on social media about the age group opportunity and how you could get a Team GB vest and that sort of became the goal.

“I had never represented Great Britain, so that was my first opportunity so it was really exciting. I loved getting my Trisuit in the post with my name on it.”

“I loved the idea of mixing two sports, something that was old and I was familiar with and taking something new I was starting to get to grips with and putting me out of my comfort zone.”

The decision proved fruitful as Bell took top honours on the Balearic Island before turning her attention back to running on the track.