Sports31 July, 20262 min read
Georgia Hunter Bell Wins Women’s 800m Gold for Team England at Glasgow Commonwealth Games
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Georgia Hunter Bell won the 800m gold for Team England at Glasgow Commonwealth Games. She clocked 1:59.51 to win, beating world champion Lilian Odira.
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Hunter Bell wins 800m
Georgia Hunter Bell won women’s 800m gold for Team England at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Friday (31 July), clocking 1:59.51 at Scotstoun Stadium. She beat reigning world champion Lilian Odira of Kenya, with Odira taking silver in 2:00.58 and Australia’s Sarah Billings claiming bronze in 2:00.61. Hunter Bell said, "It didn't quite go to plan - I didn't think I'd lead the whole thing," after the race unfolded differently from her pre-race plan.
The BBC described how Hunter Bell set the pace and then kicked on with 200m to go, winning by more than a second as the final was "barely a contest." The Glasgow Times also put the finish in context, saying Hunter Bell led at the bell and stepped it up down the home straight to leave her challengers behind, finishing in 1:59.51.
Odira, crowd, and quotes
TNT Sports reported that the race was billed as a showdown between Hunter Bell and Odira, but Hunter Bell "ripped up that script" to take a dominant victory.
In the TNT Sports account, Odira’s decision to sit so far behind Hunter Bell was questioned in the commentary booth, especially given the relatively slow pace of the opening lap.
Hunter Bell explained to TNT Sports, "I know Lilian has got a devastating last kick. It didn’t exactly go to plan."
The BBC added that Hunter Bell said, "There are four opportunities to win gold this year," after winning Commonwealth gold in Glasgow and looking ahead to further events.
France 24 framed the result around the absence of Keely Hodgkinson, saying Hunter Bell cruised to 800m Commonwealth gold after Hodgkinson skipped the Commonwealths for next month’s European championships in Birmingham.
Aftermath and next targets
After the Glasgow 800m win, the BBC said Hunter Bell is eyeing an ambitious sweep of gold medals in 2026, adding that she will also race at next month’s European Championships and the inaugural Ultimate Championships in September. The BBC reported that Hunter Bell will be two golds down and two more to go, and it noted that she is blossoming later in her career after taking five years out before returning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Commonwealth Games England’s coverage of Day 8 placed the 800m gold alongside other Team England medals, saying it was five medals out of five for Team England judokas with Acelya Toprak’s gold the highlight.
The Commonwealth Games England preview also said there will be seven gold medals to be fought for as Team England’s boxers take to the ring for the final time on Saturday, with all of them guaranteed at least silver. In the wider event picture, France 24 listed additional golds and medal moments around the same Glasgow competition, including Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage winning javelin gold with a best effort of 89.75 and Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel winning the men’s 400m hurdles title.