New horizons for Neil Gourley

British miler has already been much-travelled in 2025, but a change in outlook when it comes to the daily grind is already paying dividends for the world indoor silver medallist

Neil Gourley had to let his young inquisitor down gently. “You always get the best questions from the under-11 group,” he says, referring to a recent trip home to Scotland and a visit to a training night at his club, Giffnock North, on the south side of Glasgow.

“One kid asked me if I have a private jet! I had to tell him that he’s absolutely in the wrong sport if he wants anything like that. He might have to start swinging a golf club soon instead.”

Private jet or not, Gourley has certainly been clocking up the air miles. That trip to Scotland came right in the midst of what has been a busy start to the year for the US-based 30-year-old. He had stepped off a plane from China, brandishing the 1500m silver medal he had captured at the World Indoor Championships, and was soon on board another flight, this time to Kingston to take his place as a challenger at the inaugural Grand Slam Track meeting in Jamaica.

Those appointments followed hot on the heels of his fourth place at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, a 1500m title-winning performance thanks to a championships record at the British Indoor Championships and a British record-breaking 1000m run at the Keely Klassic in Birmingham.

He admits to some fatigue and being thankful for a “reset” when he speaks to AW but he certainly isn’t complaining about the workload. It was only in February last year when he found himself unable to walk due to a severe stress reaction in his pubic bone. Though he did eventually reach the Olympic 1500m final, just getting to Paris had been a race against time.

“I’m in a completely different place to last year,” he grins. “I’ve been enjoying it so much. I think when [things are] completely disturbed, unsettled, [just not going] to plan like it was last year, it just gives you a new kind of appreciation for when things are healthy and when things are going well.

“The sport really is enjoyable, and you kind of forget that sometimes when it’s more of a struggle. Every race I did this year felt like it got better.”

Gourley is no newcomer to the top level, his first World Championships appearance coming in 2019, but he will happily acknowledge that he is still learning on the job. There was no better illustration of his performance levels…