Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Bell will need to ‘fill her head with something’ after turning to athletics full-time for 2025, says coach Trevor Painter.

The 31-year-old, who trains out of Sport City in Manchester, clinched the 1500m bronze medal at the Paris Olympics while balancing a full-time job.

In autumn she quit her role in cyber-security to and Painter understands the perks of being able to commit entirely to the sport - his wife, former 800m World bronze medalist Jenny Meadows, also turned pro after juggling her early track career with a job.

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But the BBC Coach of the Year admits Bell may need to channel her spare time wisely and make sure her mind is being kept active, having previously completed a masters degree in the USA.

“She’s lived a fast-paced life all her career,” said Painter, who also coached Keely Hodgkinson to Paris gold in the 800m.

“Her head is probably going to need to be filled with something – maybe another course. Something to take her mind away from the monotony of not doing anything between training.

“But if you can get up, have your breakfast, go to the track fresh, healthy, then the quality of the session is so much better than if you’ve been at work.”

Painter can see plenty of comparisons between Bell and Atherton superstar Hodgkinson, two of the stars of the M11 Track Club which is based in the shadows of the Etihad.

“Georgia is very similar to Keeley in terms of their mindsets, they’re just ridiculous. On a different scale,” said the Wiganer. “Their expectations and belief in what they’re able to do are way more than I have in myself.”

A month after her underdog feat at the Olympics in the 1500m, Bell finished second in the 800m at the Brussels Diamond League, clocking a time of 1min 57.50secs. It’s at this distance that Painter believes her “weapon” can be located - making the athlete incredibly dangerous in both events.

“There’s nobody else in the world as fast as her over 800m that runs in the 1500m race,” said Painter, who was this month also crowned World Athletics’ Coach of the Year. “That’s her weapon.”

Bell, a high-achieving junior competitor, took a break from running after moving to America but returned to the sport following a successful Parkrun.

And Painter says the 31-year-old can be an example to others who give up too early.

“The window of success for female middle-distance runners is between 27 and 31, that’s supposed to be their prime, yet there’s so many girls that quit at 18 or 19”, he added.

“Georgia went to America and got a lot of injuries. She became disillusioned with the sport. I just needed some time to help her grow and she would have been a GB international.

“It’s a superb story to show that not every journey is the same. Many people quit the sport way before their prime.

“When the door closes, it’s never fully shut.”