Editor’s note: The Women’s 1500 meters was so satisfying, as the top athletes were all there! Georgia Hunter-Bell, Nikki Hiltz, Klaudia Kazimierska, Dorcus Ewoi and Emily MacKay were all there. The pace was good and the finishes were spectacular! Stuart Weir focused on the Women’s 1,500 meters in his Eighth of eleven articles on the Ultimate Games in Budapest!
Women’s 1500
The result was
1 Klaudia Kazimierska 3:57.55
2 Georgia Hunter Bell 3:57.72
3 Nikki Hiltz 3:58.16
The event – as Yogi Bear once said – had a sense of déjà vu, with Kazimierska having won the Diamond League final last week, while Hunter Bell finished fourth and Hiltz fifth. Ewoi and Hull, who were second and third in Brussels, were off the podium in Budapest.
Last week in Brussels, Georgia told me, “The last few days have been really tough mentally for me, just to get the adrenaline going. It’s been so many races this year. I think this is like my 18th race with three championships, three titles; I’ve tapped into the adrenaline so much that I’ve really locked in for it. I’m kind of running out of steam as we get towards the end of the season”.
Having won the World Indoors, European Championship and the Rome and Paris Diamond Leagues at 1500 plus the Commonwealth Games 800, Hunter Bell has every reason to be pleased with her year. While losing a four-lap race by 0.17 seconds is hard to take, it was a good performance.
She said of the race: “I am so proud of myself. The goal was to win four major competitions in one year, and I won three out of four, and finished second in the other. I gave absolutely everything I had this season. After last week, I honestly felt like the fire had gone for the season, so I had to work really hard to get that feeling back, and it showed me how important the mental side of racing is. I am really proud that I was able to come back and fight like that. Two years ago I was still working in tech sales, so it has been a long process to get here, but I think it all comes back to enjoyment, having a group, a good coach, and taking things step by step. It just shows that I can do anything.”
Kazimierska was naturally delighted with two big wins in a week: “It was a completely new position for me to be a favorite in a race like that. After winning the Diamond League Final in Brussels last week, I felt a little pressure. The last 100m against Georgia was thrilling, but I prepared well over the season and gained a lot of experience. I raced Georgia a few times this year and I had a plan for this race – finally it played out exactly as I planned”.
It was a lot to expect athletes to perform at their best twice in a week at the end of a long season, but they produced an excellent race.
