Amy Hunt hailed a “coming of age” triumph after scorching to European 100m gold in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old landed her first major individual success by coming home in 11.00s, two-hundredths of a second clear of Ewa Swoboda, to upgrade the silver she won at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 13 days ago.
It is the start of what she hopes will be a historic week as she targets gold on four fronts, with the 200m - in which she won World Championship silver last year - and a pair of relays to come.
A night to remember
“I thought it was time to upgrade and I think this was definitely a coming of age night for me,” she said. “Now I am kind of fully established. I have two 100m medals in the last two weeks and one more sub-11 to boot, so I’m very happy.
“I want to be the best. I don't shy away from that. I train incredibly hard, and I back myself so incredibly hard. I'm not saying that I'm the best right now, but that's something I aspire to be.”
Road to the final
Hunt set the tone in the semi-finals, clocking 10.99s to ease into the showpiece. Reigning champion Dina Asher-Smith also made it through but could only manage fifth in the final on this occasion in the latest sign of a shift in the balance of power within British sprinting.
“The stage of a final doesn’t intimidate me and I just knew I had to stay calm and not overthink myself into the goal,” Hunt said. “That was why the Commonwealths really came in handy for me. That’s why I really wanted to do it, to have that experience of being in front of a home crowd, having that medal expectation, because I've never had that before.”
Hunt credited the unlikely trio of Megan Thee Stallion, High School Musical and Mamma Mia as key to keeping her calm in the build-up, along with keeping her brain active on Wordle. As in the Commonwealth Games final in Glasgow, her start left her with catching up to do but she never had cause to press the panic button.
Strong finish
“One of my biggest skills in terms of championships is I know I'm so strong in the end and I always have that kind of extra magic in the last 40,” she said. “It can definitely rescue me in situations that I've got myself into but I kind of know the distance I can be away from the girls in order to be able to come back.
“I did leave it a little bit last minute this time but in championships, it's all about crossing the line first. When I look back at this race in ten years, I'm not going to think about how far back I was after 30 metres.”
Hunt returns to action on Wednesday in her ‘favourite event’, the 200m. Her plans before that are refreshingly simple.
“Try and get as much sleep as possible and a big fat lie-in.”
After this, she has earned it.
