Cal Alum Georgia Hunter Bell Wins World 1,500 Indoor Gold

One-time Cal middle-distance runner Georgia Hunter Bell is a world champion.

The 32-year-old won the1,500-meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championship at Kujawy Pomorze, Poland on Sunday.

Hunter Bell ran 3 minutes, 58.53 seconds, the fastest time of the year and a British national indoor record, to secure her first gold medal at a major international competition. Her mark ranks ninth all-time.

“This victory is so sweet,” Hunter Bell said. “It’s such a relief to win a gold medal. I knew I had to prepare mentally before coming here as a favorite. I’m really proud of myself to stay calm.”

She beat Australian Jessica Hull, silver medalist in the event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, who set an area record of 3:59.45. U.S. Olympian Nikki Hiltz won the bronze medal with a personal-best time of 3:59.68.

Ethiopia’s Birke Haylom dashed to a more than 3-second lead after 800 meters, but Hunter Bell didn’t panic and caught Haylom with just under a lap to go. She threw her hands up in celebration just before the finish line.

Hunter Bell is a remarkable story. She most recently competed at Cal in 2017 and shortly thereafter retired from the sport.

But she made a comeback at age 29 in 2023 and by the next year finished fourth at the world indoors in Glasgow, Scotland. 

That summer she earned a spot on the British Olympic team and earned a stunning bronze-medal finish at the Paris Olympics with a national-record time of 3:52.61, which ranks 12th all-time on the world outdoor list.

Hunter Bell’s previous indoor best was 3:59.84, which she clocked while winning a bronze medal at the 2025 world indoors at Nanjing, China. She followed that with a silver medal in the 800 at the 2025 world outdoor championships in Tokyo, running 1:54.90, which is No. 9 all-time.

She is a four-time British national champion, indoors and outdoors, in the 800 and 1,500.