Sacred Heart School alumni brings home Olympic medal

Georgia Bell - Image: Sacred Heart High School

Source: CBCEW/Sacred Heart School

Georgia Bell, a former pupil at St Mary's Primary School, Chiswick; Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith; and Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, won a Bronze in the women's 1,500m event for Team GB.

Georgia's talent for running was noticed at a young age when her nursery teacher wrote in her first school report: 'Georgia is very good at running!' She joined Ealing, Southall and Middlesex Athletics Club aged ten where she won local, London, Regional and National titles including English Schools and British Universities Championships.

Following this success she earned a Track Scholarship in the USA. While she enjoyed the experience, her running times did not improve and gave up running completely after graduation. It was only during COVID, when we were only allowed out to do exercise, that she began running once more; igniting her appetite to return to competition. In 2023 she qualified for Team GB MultiSports and won the World Championship Duathlon in her age group.

She began working with her former coaches Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows (former 800m World Champion) with a focus on the 1500m indoor season. Following victory in the GB title and placing 4th in the World Championships, her eyes were set on the 2024 Olympic games in Paris.

She won the silver medal in the European Championships in Rome and her Olympic selection was confirmed when she won the GB national championships in Manchester in June. She then ran 3.56.54 for 1500m (2nd on the all-time GB rankings) and 1.56.28 for 800m (4th on the all-time GB rankings and 3rd fastest time in the World this year).

This time in Paris, she broke Laura Muir's British record, running a time of 3:52.61. (Mick Jagger was in the crowds cheering her on.)

Georgia's parents are members of the parish of Our Lady of Grace and St Edward's in Chiswick, West London. Her father is Channel 5's Political Editor Andy Bell, who has described himself as a "proud dad" on his twitter account.

In a note on Linked In, Sacred Heart High School Hammersmith states: "From Park Run to Paris Podium. Looked as if she almost couldn't believe it at first. What an exhilarating moment it was to watch our alumna Georgia Bell in her first Olympics and in the 1500m final on Saturday. Up there with in the the front runners pack for the whole race and that final push securing her the bronze medal. What an inspiration; what a journey -a lesson for us all. Incredible achievement, Georgia. 'Well done' doesn't seem sufficient. Truly outstanding - we're all so proud of you."