Leeds athlete Alex Bell sets sights on World Championship glory

And she is not the type of person for whom hating anything comes naturally.

Certainly not in this past year, one in which she put a career of near-misses, rejections and injuries behind her to qualify for the Olympics, progress through three rounds to a seventh-place finish in the final and then earn UK Sport funding off the back of it.

The Leeds runner spent the rest of 2021 smiling, the level of contentment at achieving her Olympic dream something she never dared dream possible.

But now business is at hand, which brings us back to that word ‘pressure’.

Having exceeded expectations in Tokyo to the point where British Athletics finally felt the need to back her with full-time funding for a year, external expectation and targets is something she is having to now deal with. Governing bodies do not give money to also-rans.

To that end Bell has overcome the first hurdle, responded to the first pressure point if you will, by being selected to represent Great Britain in the World Athletics Championships in Oregon which began yesterday, and Team England in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham at the end of the month. Now she has to deliver.

“People ask me if I feel pressure now I’m on funding and the answer is no,” she said. “At the end of the day from getting the funding, which has been massive and life transforming, the pressure has gone.

“The Olympics was a dream come true – so I don’t see it as a pressure any more. Even though it’s going to be a hard year to compete with in terms of the rate of success, I am still willing to push on from that, see what I can push my body to and what targets I can set.

“So no pressure, I hate that word.”

To maximise her chances of kicking on in 2022, the 29-year-old quit her job working as an assistant at the Nike shop in Leeds over the winter. She was only working one day a week but it could hardly be called rest and recovery when she was doing 20,000 steps a day serving customers.

“I thought I would miss it, and I do miss the people and the environment, but my days are full,” says Bell, who starts her 800m campaign in Oregon on Wednesday.

“I thought I’d be sat thinking how the hell are you supposed to train that many hours in the day. But it’s allowed me to focus on different elements. There’s a different pattern to my day so I don’t miss working as much as I thought I would.”

Mentally Bell is in a good place. There was no enormous come-down from the highs of the Olympics to the realities of modern life. If anything, it was a gradual acceptance.

“I thought it would be easier,” she admits. “After the Olympics I carried on doing a few races, it was like I never wanted the season to end.

“If I was to look back and change something, it would be to enjoy that moment a little longer, take a little more time to fully absorb what went on.

“Moving forward I’ve got no demons, no skeletons in the closet any more, I’m just going to run with a spring in my step and a smile on my face, just enjoy what I’m lucky enough to call my job.

“I’m not taking anything for granted, I want to enjoy the journey and the process.”

Physically, Bell is happy with where she is at, although she missed the British Championships “to undergo a bit of Achilles maintenance”.

She also sprained her ankle, her mind instantly thinking the worst and that a summer of so many opportunities would pass by without her.

“I was sat with a massive elephant foot for about a week, it was terrible timing but there was nothing I could do.I was in the fortunate position where I’d got the qualifying time for the world champs so many times during that period.

“I’m ready to go, it’s not going to hinder me, I wouldn’t accept a place on such a prestigious squad if I wasn’t able to give it my all. I’m ever so grateful that I’ve got the opportunity to go and shine on both stages.”

Given such a busy summer lies ahead – if she makes the final of the worlds and the Commonwealth Games that would be six races, plus there is a European Championships in August that could require another three – Bell has put her years of experience to good use.

“I’ve only done a couple of 1,500s and a couple of 800s,” she explains. “The focus has been on all three championships so we weren’t too fussed about cramming too many races in. If I’m lucky enough to get to all three that’s potentially three rounds each in a short period, so the policy has been a bit tortoise and the hare – training as the priority to try and get a big base in.

“For the last worlds in Doha I ran about 10 times before the British Championships, then you’ve got the pressure of qualifying through the British Champs, so by the time it got to the world champs I was cooked. This time I feel mentally and physically fresh because of how little I have raced.

“I know me and my team have been laying low, but we know we’ve been doing everything we possibly can to make the worlds the best championships yet.”

And then it’s on to Birmingham to race in front of a full stadium for the first time since her last Commonwealth Games experience on the Gold Coast four years ago.

“This is the one year where we’re really spoilt with three in a year and a home Commonwealths, that will be my first and last home Games,” she says. “Hopefully there’s a few coming down from Pudsey. Regardless of whether they’re there for me or not, the stadium will be roaring. I’ll pretend they’re all for me anyway!”

Whatever the reaction, Bell is determined to run with a smile on her face.

“Tokyo was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, there was no pressure then, no one expecting anything.

“I’m getting to the point in my career now where I’m enjoying everything I’m doing.

“You can easily get fixated on every second of the day thinking ‘what am I doing?, what am I not doing?’.

“I know I’m doing everything I physically can, sometimes you can easily forget to enjoy the journey along the way.

“I don’t want to change my attitude from Tokyo, that seemed to work for me.

“Take everything in your stride, that’s the learning. I know now that anything can happen in a major championship if you keep believing and just keep fighting for that right.”