The performances of 800m prodigy Gill have been powerful in showing other young athletes just what can be possible, writes fellow aspiring teenage middle-distance runner Nathan Davis
Sometimes you watch an athlete and know they’re special without having to see the time. Seeing a runner like that in action is a chance to sit back and enjoy – not just the speed, but the efficiency and the flow.
The smooth stride, controlled arms, the composed demeanour – that’s what I have found to be most impressive about Phoebe Gill this summer, even more so than the times she has been running.
The results reflect the hours of hard work, training and perseverance that an athlete undertakes, but to be able to look so in control when you race requires something else: another level of dedication with regards to how you run, how you carry yourself.
I know all too well how difficult that can be. Like Phoebe, I’m also 17 and, like Phoebe, my chosen event is the 800m. My PB of 1:57.69 from last summer might be a quarter of a second faster than Phoebe’s but, knowing the demands that running two laps quickly can take on you, I found the European under-18 record-breaking 1:57.86 she ran in Belfast earlier this year to be truly amazing and powerful.
The phrase “inspiring the next generation” gets thrown about a lot, but in Phoebe’s case I would argue she is inspiring the current generation – showing those of us at a similar age what might be possible. In many ways, for me Phoebe’s performances in general bring home a very real sense of achievement and inspiration.
Phoebe Gill [R] (Keith McClure)
This is not a British runner who we see occasionally on the Diamond League circuit and spends the year in South Africa, Font Romeu or Flagstaff; instead, she is a local athlete representing St Albans who myself and my training partners at Luton AC see running international times.
She is now, of course, the British champion and about to become an Olympian and, in a way, her accomplishments are more real to us than those of Josh Kerr or Keely Hodgkinson because, simply, she is a lot more like us – a young club athlete who is putting in the work.
Her performances have caused heads to turn and certainly offered incentive to my training group. She makes me want to race and to achieve my own aims for this season.
I’ve seen Phoebe run on a handful of occasions, both at local cross country events and Watford Open Meets, and each time what has really stood out to me is the…
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