Amy Hunt achieved a career-defining moment in Birmingham, storming to victory in the 100m final to secure her first senior international title. Her win provided Great Britain with its inaugural gold medal of the 2026 European Athletics Championships.
The 24-year-old, who previously earned world 200m silver in Tokyo last year and a Commonwealth 100m silver just two weeks ago, proved she was ready for the top spot. Clocking a time of 11 seconds flat, Hunt surged from fifth place in the first half of the race to finish first, showcasing her trademark late-race power.
Reflecting on her performance, Hunt said Sport that she had grown tired of collecting silver medals. She noted that her parents had gifted her gold earrings to encourage her to “level up” and left her an emotional note two nights prior, telling her it was finally time for gold.
The victory marks a significant progression for the sprinter, who has faced various challenges throughout her career. Her early senior years were complicated by the need to balance professional training with her English Literature studies at Cambridge University. She also suffered a ruptured quad muscle in 2022, but has since found consistency training under coach Marco Airale in Padova, Italy.
Before these setbacks, Hunt had shown immense promise as a teenager, setting a women’s under-18 200m world record in 2019. It took her six years to surpass that personal best, but after breaking the 11-second barrier earlier this season, she has entered a new phase of her career.
Prior to the championships, Hunt expressed her ambitious mindset by quoting the character Sharpay Evans from High School Musical, stating, “I want it all and I’m someone who doesn’t shy away from what she knows she can do.” She added that she had a strong premonition that she would leave the event with a gold medal.
The opening day of the championships also saw success for the British mixed 4x400m relay team. The quartet, consisting of Yemi Mary John, Ben Jefferies, Charlotte Henrich, and Toby Harries, secured a silver medal with a time of three minutes 10.47 seconds.
In that relay final, Yemi Mary John successfully held off a challenge from Dutch athlete Myrte van der Schoot on the home straight. The British team finished behind the gold medalists from Norway, who recorded a time of 3:09.62.
Hunt’s golden performance is being viewed as a potential changing of the guard in British sprinting. With her injury history now firmly in the past, she continues to demonstrate that she is capable of consistently delivering personal-best performances on the global stage.
“I have had such a string of silvers and I was starting to get a bit fed up with it, so I thought it was time for gold,” Hunt, who won in 11 seconds flat, said Sport.
“It was definitely time for me to come of age here.”
Before those challenging years, Hunt set a women’s under-18 200m world record in 2019 – breaking Asher-Smith’s British under-20 record in the process – but it would be six years before she managed to improve on that pers
