Jemma Reekie: I can win a medal at Tokyo 2020

Jemma Reekie stoked talk of an Olympic medal tilt and laid out her ambitions to settle for nothing less than the middle-distance podium at Tokyo 2020.

The Scot has packed up her spikes after a single indoor outing in France, eschewing the European Indoor Championships to focus on preparations for a likely Games debut.

Reekie, 22, will be one of a group of athletes headed by Gudaf Tsegay, Halimah Nakaayi and Ajee Wilson keeping an eye on Caster Semenya’s final bid to overturn rulings through the European Court of Human Rights and defend her 800m title.

"It took me a year to admit that I really want to be on the podium," Reekie told the Backstraight Boys athletics podcast.

"Obviously I'm going to be delighted to become an Olympian, it's every athlete's dream, but I'm never happy if I’m not up there. Every athlete goes into a race to win and if anybody says otherwise, they're lying.

"Who goes to come fourth? I'd be delighted if I won a medal."

In the 800m, nine active British athletes have broken the two-minute barrier with feverish competition in prospect for three Tokyo spots at June's Olympic Trials.

1:58.04 was enough for Nakaayi to win the 2019 world title, within Reekie’s range, although her two outdoor international wins over the distance came in slow races in the 2020 Diamond League.

Reekie also holds the Olympic standard in the 1500m and while yet to break the four-minute barrier, is one of only three British athletes to have done the European U23 middle-distance double.

"So far, I’m running my best in the 800, so it would make sense to do that," said Reekie of her intended focus. "But you'll just have to watch training over the next few months. We'll have to wait and see what suits at the time of Trials."

Keely Hodgkinson's rapid rise and the return of Lynsey Sharp, who hasn't raced internationally during the COVID-19 pandemic, is giving Reekie all the motivation she needs.

"Every time an athlete does something, you think 'why can’t I do that'," she said.

"We all go on camps together and we're all cheering each other on. Everyone is so nice in the middle-distance community.

"As soon as Laura (Muir) and Chris O’Hare came on the scene in Scotland, it made me believe I can do it. Everyone is watching each other and pushing each other."

Sportsbeat 2021