Bell Earns Silver At First European Championships

Georgia Bell’s collection of top performances now includes a European silver medal.

T&F6/9/2024 2:55 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Cal Alum Adds More Accolades To Stunning Comeback Season

ROME – California track & field alumna Georgia Bell, who made headlines this year in her full-time return to track & field with a British Indoor 1500m title and a fourth-place finish at the World Indoor Championships, continued her standout 2024 campaign on Sunday with a second-place finish of 4:05.33 in the European Championships 1500m final. Bell, who surpassed the Olympic qualifying standard for the event at the Prefontaine Classic in May, will now turn her attention to the UK Championships on June 29-30 in hopes of qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris.
 
“It feels insane,” Bell said after the race. “I really wanted to come away with a medal tonight… I’m on top of the world.”
 
Bell was the top British finisher out of three in the race, out-running teammates Jemma Reekie (4:06.17) and Katie Snowden (4:06.83). Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean took home the gold with a time of 4:04.66 after a strong kick in the last 100m, while France’s Agathe Guillemot finished third at 4:05.69.
 
Fellow UK native Anna Purchase, who finished her collegiate career in 2023, also acquitted herself well in Sunday’s competition by reaching her first European final in the women’s hammer throw. It was her first attempt, which sailed 68.91m (226-1), that eventually landed Purchase in the overall top 12; she will take to the ring once more for a medal on Monday at 12:33 p.m. PT. Incoming freshman Valentina Savva, representing Cyprus in the other qualifying hammer flight, posted a solid throw of 66.58m (218-5) in her European Championships debut. The top mark in either group was 72.88m (239-1), courtesy of Denmark’s Katrine Koch Jacobsen, one of just three women to hit the automatic qualifying standard for the final.
 
Finland’s Tuomas Kaukolahti, who competed for Cal in 2018-19 and earned three First-Team All-American honors, competed in Sunday’s triple jump qualifying round, finishing with a best leap of 15.79m (51-9.75).
 
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