by Receiving autographs from schoolchildren is still such a novelty for Phoebe Gill that she has to remember why: she ran in an Olympic semi-final when she was 17.
This recognition, Gill acknowledges, is “the main thing that has changed in my life, but I am very grateful for this year.”
Post-Olympic life has been taken care of by trials, classes and exams as she prepares to sit her A levels, but by July Gill was the youngest member of the athletics team of Team GB for over 40 years.
Part of an 800m contingent alongside Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie, Gill was forced to grow quickly after winning the British Championships in July to qualify for Paris 2024.
“I think I learned a lot from it,” says Gill Telegraph sport from his home in St Albans. “I almost became a different person in terms of confidence because my life changed in one day when I ran the Olympic qualifying time and suddenly I had to face the new challenge which is the media and racing seniors.
“Being a young person in the field of an older person with qualifications to go to the Olympics, I felt like I had to grow up in a way.”
Last year was undoubtedly a breakout season for Gill. In May, just after turning 17, she ran the 800m in 1 min 57.86 seconds, breaking a 45-year-old European under-18 record set by Marion Geissler-Hubner of East Germany. The following month, she pipped the seasoned Reekie to first place at the national championships with a time of 1:58.66.
Preparing for Paris having run in front of the crowd containing at most a thousand people, Gill had to take an unorthodox step. With the help of her agent, she gained access to the London Diamond League track as a spectator and was “blown away” by the sold-out stadium. However, the whole Olympic experience was still a shock.
“I had tried to prepare myself in every way, but there is just no way you can prepare yourself to go into [the Olympics]», Explains Gill. “Because you go there and the whole city is decorated with Olympics decor and you realize how big this event is and going into the Olympic Village – it’s a city, it’s massive.
“The feeling when you walk out to the stadium and there’s just thousands of people watching, I couldn’t do anything to really prepare mentally for that moment because it was shocking and very overwhelming.
“But that feeling after I ran and I could take everything – because I was trying to block everything out before the start line – it was so amazing and I don’t think I could replicate that again.”
Gill’s Olympics ultimately ended in tears as she was “overwhelmed with emotion” and “overwhelmed by the fact that it had all come to an end” when she failed to qualify for the Olympic final via the ‘one of the fastest launched places. But she was comforted by teammate and future gold medalist Hodgkinson, who reminded her of her future in the sport.
As 2025 approaches, Gill’s current aspirations couldn’t be further from the purple track at the Stade de France.
Academic success has always been a priority for Gill as she confronts the choice many Year 13 students face: which universities to apply to. But far from the books and practice questions, there are always reminders of his summer feat.
“Sometimes I’ll go out and there’ll be a young girl or boy who watched me at the Olympics and they’ll come up and ask for a picture or a signature and I’ll be like, ‘What? For what?’ And I will remember that I went to the Olympics,” says Gill.
Looking beyond the next few months, Gill harbors ambitions to relive her Olympic experience at Los Angeles 2028, but acknowledges that competing for a place on the British team will be tough.
More immediately, his athletics focus will be on qualifying for the world championships in Tokyo next September, the biggest event outside of an Olympic year. But before all that, there’s still school and A levels.
Phoebe Gill fronts the campaign for the 247 X PUMA collection, which is available now.
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