Ayrshire-born Jemma Reekie stormed onto the scene at the age of 21, with a rare double gold in the 800m and 1500m at the 2019 European U23 Championships in Sweden.
Then, Reekie broke three British indoor records within the space of eight days. First came the 800m record at an invitational race in Glasgow – her time of 1:57.91 being the fastest in the world since 2006. The following week, at the Millrose Games in New York, Reekie ran the Wanamaker Mile in 4:17.88, taking almost a second off the British record set by Laura Muir the previous year and breaking the British 1500m record in the process.
An Olympic 800m finalist, Reekie came fourth in Tokyo – her time of 1:56.90 just 0.09 seconds behind bronze. Then, just ahead of her second Olympic appearance in Paris this summer, where she reached the 800m semi-finals, the 26-year-old set a new PB and Scottish record of 1:55.61 at the London Diamond League in July. It is the second-quickest time recorded in the world this year, behind only the 1:55.61 clocked by Keely Hodgkinson in the same race – the current British record.
But how did Reekie rise to such a level? We’ve explored her winding pathway to becoming a two-time Olympian.
Running was different
Reekie has loved running since she was nine years old. While she always tried different sports growing up, something about running made her fall in love with it instantly. Her primary school cross-country club was a welcome respite for Reekie, who says that she struggled with school. When her mum saw how much she enjoyed running and how it helped her to cope, she took Reekie to the local athletics club. From then on, there was no stopping her.
‘I left school when I was 16. I was really young. But I had always said, “I’m gonna be a runner, I’m gonna be a runner”, and everyone was like, it’s not a real job. But I said, “No, this is what I’m going to do”, and I was so focused on it,’ Reekie recalls.
It’s one thing to desperately want something – but was there ever a point when Reekie realised her genuine potential? ‘I remember winning the cross-country at school, but obviously it was such a small group of us,’ she says. ‘I was always a decent level in Scotland and then I started running fast when I was about 19, and I won European juniors. That’s when I really was like, wow, I’m actually doing really well.’
She was the athlete that came out of nowhere
When young athletes who have been performing well for some time break into the senior circuit, they are often viewed as having ‘come out of nowhere’. We’ve seen it recently with 17-year-old Phoebe Gill, who qualified for the Paris Olympics ahead of Reekie at the 2024 UK Athletics Championships in June. While this is an incredible achievement, Gill had been making waves across the junior circuit for some time – just as Reekie did.
‘I remember being that athlete. And everyone’s like, “wow, she’s come out of nowhere”. I was like, no, I’ve been working so hard. So I can appreciate how hard she [Gill] is working and how well she’s doing,’ says Reekie.
Who is 10,000m Olympian Megan Keith Georgia Bell, women’s middle-distance running in Britain is currently at an incredibly high level. However, Reekie assures us that there are no hostile rivalries. ‘We’re all so supportive of each other. I’m good friends with Keely, and I’m sure I’ll get to know Phoebe better and be good friends with her. Everyone in the team just supports everyone. You don’t see that part of it.’
Ultimately, they all want to win, but as Reekie points out: ‘Every time somebody does well, it builds you up, too. We’re learning so much in the sport. The depth is crazy right now. But it’s making us all really good at what we're doing.’
The power of enjoyment
In 2020, Reekie says that she was relatively unphased by all of the attention following her record-breaking spree because she was having such a good time. ‘I wasn't really thinking about what I was doing too much. I enjoyed those moments so much, but I didn’t ever really hold on to them,’ she says.
Fun, Reekie emphasises, is integral, and she’s keen to get that message across to younger athletes coming through. ‘When I’m enjoying the sport, I run at my best. I loved it then. And then, obviously, I had a couple of hard years, and now I’m just loving it again, and I can’t wait to just get racing,’ she continues.
A difficult period
Those hard couple of years that included a gruelling case of glandular fever, which involved a recovery period of just over a year, as well as the split from her long-time coach, Andy Young. After a great 2021 season, Reekie failed to make the 800m final at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. Then, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she finished 5th in the 1500m but didn’t make the 800m final.
Reekie was diagnosed with glandular fever after struggling during the 2022 indoor season. ‘I had it when I was really young, and it really hit me hard. I remember I missed a lot of school with it. I wasn’t well,’ she recalls. While Reekie had an inkling, she didn’t realise it was possible to get glandular fever again, and the diagnosis terrified her. ‘It took me back to being a kid and thinking I was so ill with it then – and I was just a kid, never mind an adult trying to be a professional athlete,’ she says.
Reekie admits attempting to train through the illness, which inevitably prolonged recovery. A vicious cycle ensued. ‘I’d get better as the year went on, and then I’d try to do more and put myself backwards. It was just heartbreaking,’ she says.
Did she ever consider giving up? ‘I was scared I was never going to be as good again or as fast as I was, but I never thought about stopping because of it,’ Reekie notes, confidently.
Then came the rather public split from Reekie’s long-time coach, which also meant parting ways with training partner Laura Muir. What was it like for that to happen in the public eye? ‘It’s fine for everyone to chat about it and everything, but for myself, and Laura, it was a really difficult time,’ she says.
But, with difficulty, came relief. ‘I was happy to leave. That setup wasn’t right for me anymore, and I’d probably known that for a good while.’ Reekie reflects. ‘I said to Jon [Bigg], I really want you to coach me, and it was all excitement. But it was also hard because by making those decisions, I left Laura.’
Joining Bigg also meant that Reekie had to decide whether to leave home in Scotland – where she had lived her entire life – and move to Sussex. ‘I always feel so lucky because a lot of people go away for uni and go away to different countries for coaches, and I always got to stay home,’ says Reekie. She ultimately decided to move to Brighton – a decision Bigg wanted her to arrive at herself.
Reekie says that she quickly settled in, and that Sally Gunnel [Olympic gold medallist in the 400m hurdles and Bigg’s wife] has been a huge support. ‘She’s such a strong athlete herself. She has been through it all and has really helped me to settle in. They’ve kind of adopted me into their family, so when I’m down here by myself, because my [partner] John is away quite a lot, they’ll have me over,’ she says.
What does Reekie miss the most about Scotland? ‘My family. I’ve always been really close to my family,’ she notes. ‘I’ve got two little cousins, and I’ve got all my grandparents still. I’ve got a really nice homely setup.’ Not to mention her two chihuahuas – Elton and Dolly – who she has to leave with her parents when racing. ‘I know they have a good life up there and they’re happy, but I miss them,’ admits Reekie.
Reekie scooped up her first senior medal – a silver – at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow earlier this year. Initially, she was disappointed as it was no secret she was going for a home championships gold. However, after a few days of reflection, Reekie says that it became clear how much her new team had turned everything around. ‘When I went to John, I was maybe in 2:02/2:03 shape. I wasn’t in good shape,’ she says. So, a world indoor medal less than a year later was certainly something to be proud of.
Lighter is not faster
Reekie says that she has added more speed sessions and strength training to her routine, contesting the problematic message of ‘lighter is faster’ which still persists among female athletes. ‘I’m running faster than ever, and I’m way heavier because I’m stronger than I’ve ever been,’ she says.
Since Tokyo, Reekie says she has developed a different running technique, looks different physically, and is generally much stronger.
Wedding bells
Someone who understands the commitment and sacrifice of sport is Reekie’s partner John, who competes at the same level in Motocross. She says that he’s helped to highlight the importance of living life outside of sport, ‘and that running doesn’t need to be the only thing that makes me happy’.
The couple are getting married next year, and Reekie says that wedding planning has allowed her to switch off from athletics and bond with her mum and sister from a distance. She’s sorted all the big things, including her dress, so it’s just the little details to go, but that can wait until after Paris.
