Of the prospect of getting down a further 3.6 seconds to the world 1500m record, Meadows, herself a former world and European medallist, said: “3:52.6. I know 3:49.0 is a little bit in front of that but never say never for anything.”
Painter had previously coached Bell in her early twenties and laughs when he recalls his first impressions. “We were coaching a girl called Leah Barrow at Birmingham University and she was at the same uni,” said Painter. “She was doing a few sessions with her and then she said, ‘Can I join in?’ The first time she came, I thought she was like a society girl, like Tamara Beckwith. Glamorous girl. But when I saw her run, I thought, ‘oh, all right’. She very quickly rose through the development but the next thing she said she was off to do a Masters in the States [in California].
“I was gutted when she went to America. You could just see something special. But you don’t want to hold people back. It’s their life and they do what they want to do.”
Painter would refer to Bell as “the one who got away” until she got back in touch after returning to some track races. “Her and her boyfriend were doing a lot of cycling,” said Painter. “During Covid he said, ‘Shall we go for a run’ and she said, ‘You don’t want to run with me’. He was like, ‘What do you mean?’ She said, ‘I used to be all right’. (Bell had won national age-group medals when she was younger). They went for a run and she destroyed him. Since then, she started to do some programmes.”
Meadows initially thought that it might be too late and her subsequent progression – which saw her chop 10 seconds off her personal best in 2023 before another 14 seconds this year – has been “beyond our wildest dreams”.
“It’s great for Georgia because this is a lifetime’s work for Trev – he has been coaching for 24 years,” said Meadows, whose 25-strong elite group also includes 800m British record-holder and gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson and Lewis Davey, who helped Team GB to 4x400m relay bronze.
“We have made ourselves a team this year – the M11 Track Club,” added Meadows. “Georgia is very teamy and she trains with other world-class girls. She is a revelation. She thinks, ‘Well my team-mate can be an Olympic champion, I am doing similar sessions’. We compare her to Keely so much. She just responds to the stimulus that we give her.
“I said to her, exactly the same as I said to Keely before she went into the call room: ‘You have got every skillset. I would rather have your skillset than most other people in this race’. Use it. You will be very difficult to beat.”
