Who can forget the scene as Georgie Hartigan (DSD) crossed the finish line at the Athletics Ireland Indoor Micro Meet as winner of the 800m in a new PB and qualifying time for the European Indoor Championships. Both hands went to her face on which was an expression of sheer delight. She had expected to go fast, but maybe not just as quickly as this!
Georgie recently opted to represent Ireland and we are likely to be seeing a lot more of her. So it is the perfect time for introductions.
She started running in school sports days in England and when these went well, it was time to join an athletics club. Georgie then started competing in local leagues when she was around 10.
Her family is a very sporty one. She says,
“My parents both competed internationally in athletics. My dad was an 8.33 steeplechaser and my mum was the Commonwealth bronze medallist over 1,500m in 1990. One of my main aims is to beat my mum’s PBs – I’m getting closer!”
In 2019, Georgie became the BUCS 1,500m champion. She thrives on championship racing and that victory is likely her favourite so far.
Progress has not always been easy, as Georgie explains; “Any success has just been down to consistent hard work, I plateaued from the ages of about 21-23 and it was tough sticking with it when I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. I have also been injury-free for around 3 years now. My boyfriend is an international athlete for GB and seeing him succeed on the world stage was really inspiring for me.”
“My coach is my mum – Bev Hartigan. She puts so much time and effort into my running, and she knows me almost better than I know myself at times, so it works well. She sets all my training which makes it easy for me – I just run! I love 300m reps, something like 5-6 x 300m off 3 mins is a great 800m session. I mainly train solo, but my mum has a group of great girls that I get to train with when I am around! I also sometimes jump in with other athletes who are based where I live such as Adelle Tracey and Ciara Everard.”Onto matters of diet. Georgie says, “My favourite food is crisps. I am addicted to crisps! My favourite meal would be probably a good burger.”
