Jemma Reekie, Sarah McDonald, and Melissa Courtney-Bryant: Our British Women's Middle Distance Special

Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Athletics Chat

We say it so often, we might as well replace that part where Jody and Bayo forget their social media handles at the end of each episode with this refrain, but: the British middle distance trials are going to be something else.
Olympic qualifying standards are casually scattered up and down the domestic rankings, and we are truly spoilt for choice when it comes to world-class athletes over 800 and 1500 metres.
In 2020, we had three women in the global top ten over 800 metres, and four in the metric mile. Laura Muir's so phenomenal that we no longer bat an eyelid when she runs sub-four minutes, and Jemma Reekie was breaking British indoor records for fun last winter. Keely Hodgkinson is the fastest teenager there's ever been over four laps of an indoor track, and there are some seriously speedy juniors nipping at her heels.
With that in mind, we caught up with three of our favourites - Sarah McDonald, Melissa Courtney-Bryant, and Reekie - to discus this gloriously congested landscape of middle distance excellence.
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Thanks for listening.
Jody, Bayo, and Claire

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