Bronze for Bell as Kipyegon sprints into 1500m history

Georgia Bell unleashed the kick of her dreams to haul in Ethiopia's Diribe Welteji and snatch a 1500m bronze at the Olympics as the legendary Faith Kipyegon clinched a third successive title.

- JACK RATHBORN

A blazing Olympic record from Kipyegon, 3 mins and 51.29 secs, proved a blessing beyond the in-race pain for her rivals, as the Kenyan dragged a train of medal hopefuls around to express times. And Bell profited to claim a British record of 3 mins and 52.61 secs, almost four seconds better than her previous best mark, to finish just five-hundredths of a second behind Australia’s Jess Hull in silver.

Bell trains alongside newly-crowned 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and has now completed a staggering journey from quitting the sport in 2017 to rediscovering her passion for running in 2021.

“I don't know if I've ever been this happy," Bell told BBC Sport. “I woke up really calm and in a good mood and I just thought ‘I’m not the fastest person in that race' but I thought if I was brave and got stuck in, I could make something special happen.”

But while there was elation for Bell, it was agony for Laura Muir, with the Scot 0.24 seconds off the podium after a tactically mature performance to sit off the sizzling pace and use her strength to reel in her rivals.