Walcott-Nolan heading to her second Olympics as Luton 1,500m runner earns Team GB call-up for Paris

​​Luton Athletics Club member Revee Walcott-Nolan will be going to her second Olympics after being chosen as part of the Team GB squad that heads to France this summer.

The 29-year-old earned a spot in the 1,500m team after finishing third in the British Championships in Manchester last weekend. With five athletes already securing the qualifying time it was always going to be a slow tactical race and Olympic silver medallist Laura Muir launched her trademark fast finish 300m from home.

She couldn’t quite hold off Belgrave Harriers’ athlete Georgia Bell though, who took victory in 4:10.69mins, Muir timing 4:11.50 and Walcott-Nolan claiming third in 4:11.70, as the trio will all now compete for gold in France. With the qualifying time for Paris set at 4:02.50, Walcott-Nolan has managed to achieve that three times this season, the first at the recent Golden Spike event in Ostrava, where she managed 4:02.32.

She then bettered that at the Wanda Diamond League clash in Sweden when she timed 4:00.77 and recorded her PB in the event just a few weeks ago when finishing third in the Memoriał Ireny Szewińskiej race in Poland, clocking an impressive 4:00.43. Training with the ON group of professional distance runners at altitude in South Africa and Switzerland over the past year, Walcott-Nolan will be hoping to improve on her performance at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo when she missed out on a semi-final place by just 0.1 seconds. Writing on Instagram, Walcott-Nolan said: “Officially selected for the Paris Olympics! Soon to be 2xOlympian.”

When announcing the selections, Team GB Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE, said: “The Games are within touching distance now and I am delighted to welcome a hugely talented and exciting track and field squad to Team GB. The group boasts a very strong mix of Olympic, World and European medallists. I am confident that their experience will be a source of inspiration and support not only to the 35 debutants who have also made the team, but to the wider Team GB too. Athletics fans were treated to some outstanding breakthrough performances at the British Championships in Manchester last week which has given us a glimpse of what we can expect next month in Paris.”

Team Leader Paula Dunn added: “Congratulations to all the athletes and their support networks on their selection for Paris 2024. It is a huge moment in their careers, and they have all worked incredibly hard to get into this position. I wish all the selected athletes well in their last few weeks of preparation and we will continue to ensure that they can optimise and maximise all the support required leading into Paris. It’s a brilliant mix of athletes who have multiple global medals alongside some amazing young talent that has only just broken through this season.

"We saw a number of athletes step up at this weekend’s Microplus UK Athletics Championships with some exceptional performances across the board to get those standards. We know from this we have a high quality team for Paris who know how to produce their best when it counts and will be challenging for medals and those Olympic final spots. It’s an exciting time for everyone, and we’re incredibly proud of the team named.”