Cycling, Crystals and Cutting-Edge Science: The Secrets Behind British Athletics' Golden Duo
Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, the husband-and-wife coaching team behind Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell's gold-medal success at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland, believe the best is yet to come for the pair. Their victory, part of a stunning British treble with Molly Caudery, has been hailed as a pivotal moment for the sport.
Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics and architect of the London 2012 Olympics, described the achievement as "a towering moment, not just for UK Athletics but for British sport". He expressed hope it would inspire a surge in participation, particularly among young girls.
Unlocking Peak Performance: A Holistic Approach
Painter revealed that Hodgkinson felt so strong before the 800m final she believed she could break her own world indoor record again, despite racing twice in two days. "Warming up she said, 'I feel amazing. I won't be surprised if I get a PB here'," Painter recounted. "I went, 'OK, your PB is a world record'. Afterwards she had no lactic acid. And she was like: 'I'm just going to do the 4x400m relay,' and an hour later she ran 50.1 seconds."
This performance, faster than any specialist 400m runner in the field, signals even greater potential. Painter attributes this to Hodgkinson being fully healthy for the first time since the 2023 Budapest championships, having missed no training sessions this year.
The Support System: Physio, Physiology and Happiness
A key factor has been support from Nike, providing a budget for physiotherapist Alison Rose, who manages Hodgkinson's hamstring issues, and physiologist Rachel McCormick, formerly of the Australian Institute of Sport. Painter emphasised the importance of holistic well-being: "Keely's just in a very happy place at the moment relationships-wise. She's moving house, so that's exciting, when you have all those things coming together."
Hodgkinson herself credits Himalayan salt crystals for helping her stay calm. "It's about making the human happy," Painter explained. "If they're in a happy place they're going to perform well."
A Dynamic Duo: Friendship and Rivalry
Meadows highlighted how Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell push each other in training, with Hodgkinson offering more speed and Hunter Bell greater speed endurance. Despite competing head-to-head, they remain close friends. "They're a dynamic duo," Meadows said. "They elevate each other," added Painter.
Their personalities differ, however. Meadows noted that Hunter Bell is analytical and methodical, while Hodgkinson is a free spirit who needs flexibility. After breaking the world indoor 800m record in February, Hodgkinson celebrated her birthday by bumping into Coe and Manchester United CEO Collette Roche on a night out. "We thought it was quite funny," Meadows said. "But we do keep reminding ourselves that Keely can't be a robot."
Innovative Training: Cycling and Customised Sessions
A significant change this winter has been Hodgkinson incorporating cycling into her easy endurance days, often extending one-hour sessions to ninety minutes. "We've had to rein her back," Meadows admitted. "It's just great though. She finds it so boring on a static bike or the elliptical machine in the gym. If she wants to carry on in this sport for a decade or more, we have to let her enjoy life."
Painter's coaching philosophy avoids excessive long slow running, instead using bikes, swimming pools, and cross trainers for aerobic work to reduce impact. "As long as they're giving me, say, 45 minutes on a bike, it's as good as 30-35 minutes on the running, but without the impact," he said. "Then when we run on the track and we're doing sessions we feel sharper and the sessions are better."
Science and Recovery: Defying Expectations
Physiologist Rachel McCormick has been astonished by how quickly Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell recover between intense sessions. Painter explained that much existing science focuses on longer-distance runners, but their athletes consistently hit high lactate levels and bounce back rapidly. "She's testing us and we're up in the 20s. Then she's like: 'Oh they're going to be screwed for like a week here'. Then two days later we're up in 20s again and she's blown away," he said.
This resilience stems from years of steady buildup, with Painter confident McCormick's work will drive further improvements. "In the long term, she's going to be of massive help in terms of how we get even better."
With this blend of personalised coaching, scientific insight, and attention to well-being, Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell are poised for even greater achievements on the global stage.
