Geordie Beamish has won a breakthrough world title “from the depths of hell”, taking gold in the 1500 metres at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow with a massive finishing kick.
The young Hawke’s Bay athlete ran a personal best 3 minutes 36.54 seconds to edge Americanrivals Cole Hocker and Hobbs Kessler to gold. Hocker and Kessler ran 3m 36.69s and 3m 36.72s respectively.
The US-based Havelock North runner’s achievement in Scotland on Monday morning (NZT) is possibly Hawke’s Bay’s biggest-ever success in international athletics.
Geordie Beamish crosses the line with the USA’s Hobbs Kessler during the heats of the 1500 metres in Glasgow. Photo / Photosport
And it was not even his specialist event - Beamish is targeting the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Olympic Games in Paris later this year.
The race, not televised in New Zealand, was described by World Athletics as a “scintillating final lap”, with Beamish winning the race “from the depths of hell”.
From the depths of hell 🤯
🇳🇿's Geordie Beamish is your 1500m indoor world champ after a scintillating final lap 👀
Beamish displayed a characteristic kick, about seventh or eighth with about a lap to go and then fifth around the final turn, having sat 10th for most of the race. His sprint finish was all leg power as he pipped the two Americans.
“It has taken a bit to sink in,” he saidafterwards. “I can’t believe it. I’m in total shock.”
“To run mid-pack was the plan from Ritz [Dathan Ritzenhein, Beamish’s coach] as we kind of decided being at the back of the field was too far back to kick from,” he said. “I was behind the American Cole Hocker and I felt like he was one of the favourites, so I just stuck behind him and find myself feeling good with a couple of laps to go.”
“At the bell, I thought there was a chance of a medal, any medal and I didn’t care what colour. It was not until 15-20 metres to go did I think that any medal was going to turn into gold. It was a blanket finish and I thought, if I get a medal, it might as well be first.”
On his goals for the rest of the year he said: “I’m mostly focused on enjoying this one and we’ll look to the rest of the season in the coming weeks. I imagine it doesn’t change much. It’s just an incredible result for the indoor season. I’m really proud to have brought home a gold medal for New Zealand.”
Hastings runner-turned-coach Richard Potts, who has held the New Zealand secondary schools championships senior boys 1500m record for 35 years, managed to stop at the side of the road to catch the “live” and said Beamish ran the “tactically perfect race.”
“He timed it very well,” he said.
Son of Simon and Josi Beamish, of Havelock North, and a former pupil of Hereworth School and Whanganui Collegiate, Beamish’s time was just one-hundredth of a second outside his outdoors personal best for the distance, at which New Zealand already has a strong Olympics contender in Bay of Plenty runner Sam Tanner.
Beamish followed older brother Hugo into a career in college athletics in the US.
Hugo Beamish said his brother’s win was “pretty cool”.
“He will be the first to say, this time he got in the right spot to kick from,” he said. “Kicking for first instead of third or fourth.”
“I’m very happy for him, a tough few years battling injuries, which is mentally very challenging,” he said. “It’s good timing for the Olympics and also helps the case for continuing to be a professional athlete.”
Geordie Beamish was well behind for most of the race before a finishing kick. Photo / Getty Images
The win completed New Zealand’s most successful world championships athletics meeting, with two gold medals and two silver medals, a total headed only by the US and Belgium on the medals table.
Hawke’s Bay has had some athletes contending in the past for honours in the 1500m, in which New Zealand has had huge success in the form of Olympic gold medalists Jack Lovelock, Peter Snell and John Walker. The best previous performance at the distance by a runner from Hawke’s Bay was by Tony Polhill, making the final at the 1972 Olympics.
The biggest victory by a Hawke’s Bay track and field athlete internationally was the 1982 Commonwealth Games javelin gold medal for New South Wales-born, Taradale-raised Mike O’Rourke.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 50 years of journalism experience in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
