Champion George Mills aims for Olympic qualification

The 20-year-old rounded off a dream week by grabbing gold and scooping his first senior British title in Glasgow, just seven days after notching a new personal best time.

The former St Aidan’s School pupil is now setting his sights on a qualification time for the Olympic Games.

“It feels amazing to have won the title, the run couldn’t have gone any better,” said Mills, who has competed for Harrogate Harriers in the past, after success at the Emirates Arena.

“I was feeling good after getting my new personal best last week and I knew I could give the Indoor Championships a good shot.

“The result was great, but it’s not the most important thing. It was more about the processes of the indoor season and using it to learn and improve.

“I’ll take those lessons into the outdoor season with me and keep working hard towards the Olympic Games qualifiers in June.”

Mills, son of former England, Manchester City and Leeds United footballer Danny Mills, scooped the 1,500m title in a time of 3mins 50.69secs, defeating British junior record-holder Tom Keen (3:52.40).

But, Mills has no time to rest on his laurels, with an altitude training camp in the United States looming in April ahead of a busy summer.

In addition to his promising athletics career, the former European Under-18s 800m champion is also studying for a degree in sports science at the University of Brighton, though, his ultimate focus remains firmly set on Olympic glory.

“I would love to be an Olympic champion one day and make it to the very top level,” continued Mills.

“It’s ambitious, but if you are not ambitious then you won’t push yourself.”