Georgia Hunter Bell, the Olympic bronze medalist at 1500m, has decided to only contest the 800m at the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo. British Athletics announced its 66-person roster for Japan.

Erin Wallace, Hunter Bell’s training partner on the M11 Track Club, will run the 1500m with Laura Muir and Revee Walcott-Nolan. Hunter Bell will join Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie on the 800m squad.

Bell owns a season’s best of 1:56.74 for the 800m. She won the British Athletics Championships in the event and is competing in the Diamond League Final this week. Her time puts her as the fifth-fastest 800m runner of the year. She was selected by British Athletics since she won the UK Athletics Championships and has the World Championship standard.

She ran her personal best of 1:56.28 last year and went on to take second in the 800m at the Diamond League final.

Hunter Bell has a season’s best of 3:54.76 for the 1500m. She is the sixth-fastest woman in the event this year. She could have been selected by British Athletics for the 1500m without having run the event at the national championships since she is an Olympic medalist and met the federation's standards and selection policy.

Quick Thoughts On The Decision

– Hunter Bell may have slightly better odds at a medal in the 800m than in the 1500m. It’s hard to see anyone in the world beating Faith Kipyegon (3:48.68 WR) for gold in the 1500m and Hodgkinson has been dominant in her return from injury. Anything can happen in the races in Tokyo, but Kipyegon and Hodkingson are both clear favorites for gold.

Of the four other women ahead of Hunter Bell in the 1500m list for 2025, Gudaf Tsegay (3:50.62 SB, No. 2 in the world) and Beatrice Chebet (3:54.73 SB, No. 5 in the world) will not be contesting the 1500m in Tokyo. Both are entered in the 5000m and 10,000m instead. That leaves Diribe Welteji (3:51.44 SB, No. 3 in the world) Olympic silver medalist Jess Hull (3:52.67 SB, No. 4 in the world) as the other medal contenders. Bell is 0-for-5 against Welteji since Paris and 0-for-2 against Hull over 1500m.

Over in the 800m, Bell is:

0–2 against Hogdkinson – Losing both races by almost two seconds but finishing third overall both times (London 2024 Diamond League and 2025 Lausanne Diamond League)

3–1 against Audrey Werro – Bell beat her in Stockholm earlier this year but lost to Werro in Lausanne. They’ll go head-to-head again in this week’s Diamond League final.

Never raced Lilian Odira (1:56.52 SB, No. 3 in the world)

Never raced Tsige Duguma (1:56.64 SB, No. 4 in the world) – Bell will get her first glimpse at the Olympic silver medalist in the Diamond League final. Duguma has not raced since the Prefontaine Classic in July.

With Olympic bronze medalist and reigning World champion Mary Moraa also not having raced an 800m since the Prefontaine Classic in July, the 800m feels a bit more wide open than the 1500m.

Good News For Nikki Hiltz

Nikki Hiltz is putting together a banner season with three sub-3:57 performances (3:55.96 SB), defending their U.S. title for the third consecutive year and winning their first Diamond League 1500m. With Bell solely focusing on the 800m, Hiltz is in position to head to Tokyo as the fourth-fastest competitor of the year. Welteji is still ahead of them but has not raced since July’s Prefontaine Classic, so it’s fair to put a question mark next to her name since she’s also absent from the Diamond League final.

Hiltz has been piling on consistency and has clearly leveled up in fitness since taking seventh at last year’s Olympics. Without Hunter Bell and if Welteji is not healthy, Hiltz’s medal odds have slightly increased. Hiltz is looking to just become the fourth American to medal in the 1500m after Mary Decker, Regina Jacobs, Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson.

The Schedule Ahead For Hunter Bell

Sept. 18th, 7:55 p.m. – 800m heats

Sept. 19th, 8:45 p.m. – 800m semifinals

Sept. 21st, 7:35 p.m. – 800m final