Thank you for your interest in this story
To continue reading this article, subscribe to the Stray Ferret for as little as £1 a week
Already a subscriber? Log in here.
25
Mar 2023
Harrogate's Olympic hopeful from a famous sporting family
Harrogate is home to one of Britain's most famous sporting dynasties — the Mills family.
Dad Danny played football for England and Leeds and while his 19-year-old son Stanley is forging a career with Everton, 23-year-old son George is making a name as an international middle distance runner.
George was 1,500 metre British champion in 2020 and has realistic ambitions of representing the UK at the World Championships in Budapest this year and at the Olympics in Paris next year.
Like most international athletes he lives a nomadic life, spending winter training in South Africa and then alternating between there, Leipzig in Germany and St Moritz in Switzerland during the summer race season.
Training in St Moritz
But his roots are firmly in Harrogate, having lived in the town for most of his childhood when he attended Ashville College, Brackenfield School and St Aidan's Church of England High School. His youngest brother is still at St Aidan's. George says:
Under Jo Day's guidance at Harrogate Harriers, he improved rapidly and became under-18 European 800 metres champion at the age of 17 by running a remarkable 1 minute 48.36 seconds.
Jo recalls:
George in a Harrogate Harriers shirt with coach Jo Day
In September 2017 George moved to Brighton to attend university and transferred to Brighton Phoenix, the club 1980 Olympic 800 metres champion Steve Ovett ran for. But injuries kept him off the track for three frustrating years.
He bounced back in 2020 to win British indoor and outdoor titles at 1,500 metres — the distance he now focuses on.
Read more:
- Harrogate man beats 10,000 runners to win Brighton half marathon
- Harrogate teenager crowned national cross-country champion
But international athletics is a brutal and unforgiving sport. His senior British debut at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade last year turned into an "absolute disaster" when he thought he'd recovered from a bug only to fade to seventh in his heat.
He was then tripped in his second senior international appearance at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul this month.
George, however, doesn't dwell on these disappointments. He says:
Instead he is focusing on doing everything he can to have the best chance of success in the 18-month run-up to the Olympics. And we mean everything: he runs up to 180 kilometres a week in training, which even by the standards of the Mills family, where everybody exercises at least five times a week, is extreme. He jokes:
Parental support
His parents are, however, totally behind him and occasionally watch him race. George, who is now a member of On Athletics Club Europe's elite team of young runners, says:
Running may have usurped football but the bond remains strong. He grew up kicking a ball and admits he was "an absolute glory hunter as a kid" who supported Chelsea but now just supports his brother, who made his Everton debut last year.
George runs up to 180km a week
Athletes may be the financial poor relations to footballers but the route to the top is every bit as hard.
British middle distance is currently the strongest it's been since the 1980s golden era of Ovett, Coe and Cram so even qualifying for major championships is tough.
George, however, is up for the challenge of being an Olympian in 2024.
One thing is for sure, he won't shirk the challenge.
0