Georgia Hunter Bell will chase her first major international title when she leads Great Britain’s medal hopes at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.
Olympic bronze medallist Hunter Bell will line up as the fastest European woman over 1500m this year and, while another podium place is her priority, Laura Muir’s British indoor record time of 3:59.58 is also in her sights.
“I would love to run a fast time and I do have half an eye on the British record,” Hunter Bell, who races in the heats during Thursday’s opening session, told BBC Sport.
“But championship racing is about the podium, not the time, so we will see if the opportunity presents itself this weekend to run fast.”
Related Posts
Elsewhere, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen will bid to make history by taking his tally of European indoor golds to seven with a third consecutive 1500m and 3,000m double at the championships.
Great Britain finished third in the medal table with three golds and six medals overall in 2023, but title-winners Keely Hodgkinson, Laura Muir and Jazmin Sawyers are all absent from the 42-strong squad.
Another British medal hope, world indoor pole vault champion Molly Caudery, has withdrawn to focus on the World Indoor Championships later this month as she manages a minor calf problem.
The championships will feature wavelight technology – the LED pacing system on the inside of the track – for the first time after European Athletics approved its use in a competitive setting, although organisers said “it will not be used as a direct aid to athletes”.
Follow coverage of the European Indoor Championships on BBC Two from Thursday 6 to Sunday, 9 March.
