Revée Walcott-Nolan: “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in at this time of the year”
One lap to go, the bell chimes. Shimmering white track spikes fly past the finish line for one final time. It’s now or never, pressing, the spikes swing wide in tandem with their competitor. Revée Walcott-Nolan moves up onto the shoulder of her rival, their cadence increases as they cruise around the penultimate bend. With 100 metres to go both British athletes move robotically as they strain to hold their form.
Steaming towards the finish line Revée finishes a close second, just missing out on the 1500m British Indoor Championship title. The battle for the British indoor crown may be over, but the road to Paris continues.
Starting her season off with a silver medal, at the British indoor championship, it is the perfect springboard for Revée as she sets her sights on this years major championships.
She said: “I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in at this time of the year. My two main goals for the outdoor season are definitely European champs and the Paris Olympic Games. I just want to keep improving as an athlete, racing and being competitive against the best in the world.”
Tokyo Olympic Games
This isn’t Revée’s first experience coming into an Olympic cycle, she represented Team GB in the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. At The Games she narrowly missed advancing out of the heats.
Reflecting on this experience she said:“I learned a lot in my first Olympics, especially about how small the margins are when racing at that level. I made a few tactical errors in my heat which is something I’ve been working on improving ever since”
Joining OAC Europe
Revée’s journey towards 2024 hasn’t been as plain sailing as most would expect. Coming into the Olympic year she has made quite a drastic change to her coaching setup.
“Changing coaches and training groups going into an Olympic year was daunting, but it was a necessary move I needed to ensure I go into the Olympic year as best prepared as possible. South Africa and St Moritz are really great training places and it helps that I’m surrounded by such a great group of people. It has had a really positive effect on me being around other athletes that influence and motivate me to be the best.”
World Indoor Championships
Joining the On Athletic Club Europe team has obviously had a positive impact on her season so far. Winning silver at the British Indoors qualified her to represent Team GB at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
“It was really important to secure selection for world indoors. It was a great opportunity to get more experience and practice competing at the top international level which has spurred me on for this summer.”
New shoe technology
As a runner myself, I’ve heard the On Cloudspikes are the next big racing spike to hit the market. Curious whether the shoe lived up to the hype, I quizzed Reveé on whether I should give them a go this track season.
She said: “It can be quite scary trying out new spikes when you have been wearing the same ones for a long time. But they live up to the hype, really comfortable and smooth but also aggressive.”
Looks like I’ve found the perfect shoe to race in this summer. Make sure to keep an eye on Reveé Walcott-Nolan in the lead up to the Paris Olympics.
