--- title: "Georgia Hunter Bell wins 800m gold in Glasgow; Time 1:59.51, defeats world champion Lilian Odira" sdDatePublished: "2026-08-01T13:11:00Z" source: "https://www.olympics.com/en/news/commonwealth-games-2026-georgia-hunter-bell-beats-the-world-champion-to-800m-gold-in-glasgow" topics: - name: "sport" identifier: "medtop:15000000" - name: "athletics" identifier: "medtop:20000827" - name: "Olympic Games" identifier: "medtop:20001177" locations: - "Glasgow" - "Kenya" - "Botswana" - "Australia" --- Georgia Hunter Bell wins 800m gold in Glasgow; Time 1:59.51, defeats world champion Lilian Odira Commonwealth Games 2026: Georgia Hunter Bell beats the world champion to 800m gold in Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026: Georgia Hunter Bell beats the world champion to 800m gold in Glasgow The Paris 2024 1500m bronze medallist clocked 1:59.51, to hold off Kenya’s Lilian Odira with Australia's Sarah Billings third. England's Georgia Hunter Bell beat the best in the world in Glasgow. The Paris 2024 Olympic 1500m bronze medallist won the women's 800m athletics final at the Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 on Friday (31 July), winning in 1:59.51 at Scotstoun Stadium and beating reigning world champion Lilian Odira of Kenya. "It didn't quite go to plan - I didn't think I'd lead the whole thing," Hunter Bell said. "I wanted to lead with 200 to go, but I found myself at the front, so I thought I'd just control it, keep it relaxed, not too fast, and when I felt the pressure of a move being made, I'd be ready to go." The crowd carried her home. "They've been really nice to me, even though I'm English," she said. "In that last little bit, I thought my legs were going, but the crowd really got me there." Odira took silver in 2:00.58. Australia's Sarah Billings was a close third in 2:00.61. "I'm grateful and happy to finish on the podium. This was my debut in the Commonwealth, so I'm even happier," Odira said. "The 800 is changing day by day – it's becoming so competitive, so finishing on the podium isn't easy. I'm grateful to get the silver." Hunter Bell took it out fast and led at the halfway mark. She held the world champion off down the home straight. The winning time of 1:59.51 sat well outside Caster Semenya 's Commonwealth Games record of 1:56.68. Billings broke down the race afterward. "A lot of the girls in the field are more 400 800 runners, so I knew it'd be hard to get out with them," she explained. "I thought if I was towards the back, I'd make my move on the front straight, use the tailwind and get into a good position. I tried to go a bit at 200, and Georgia responded straight away, more aggressively than I could. That was my best today – three-hundredths of a second off silver." Botswana's Oratile Nowe was fourth in 2:01.29, ahead of Wales' Isabelle Boffey (2:01.44). Nowe is also an IOC scholarship holder. Through monthly grants, Olympic Solidarity scholarships help athletes cover costs linked to training, equipment, travel and qualification competitions, giving athletes from all backgrounds an equal opportunity to prepare for and succeed at the Olympic Games. Since Sydney 2000, the scholarships have supported more than 12,000 athletes - including more than 1,500 on the road to the LA28 Olympic Games. Discover the athletes receiving Olympic Solidarity scholarships. Commonwealth Games 2026: Athletics results – complete list 23 July - 2 August Commonwealth Games 2026 | Glasgow | United Kingdom