Amy Hunt is drawing inspiration from High School Musical as she aims to win everything on home soil at the European Athletics Championships.
The 24-year-old British sprinter is set to compete in four events in Birmingham – the 100m, 200m, and both the women's and mixed 4x100m relays – meaning she will be in action on five of the seven days of competition.
'I want it all'
Quoting the character Sharpay Evans, Hunt said: “To quote Sharpay Evans, ‘I want it all.’ It’s important to be a complete sprinter and be competitive across the full 60, 100, 200 and relay. I've got a strict programme of what I'm doing to recover, but I can't wait to get out there and experience the crowd as many times as possible.”
Hunt demonstrated her prowess over 200m at last year's World Championships in Tokyo, where she claimed a superb silver medal. After that, the Cambridge University graduate made headlines by expressing her desire to show it was possible to be "an academic badass and track goddess".
Form and expectations
She arrives in Birmingham in strong form over the shorter distance, having won 100m silver at the Commonwealth Games two weeks ago in 10.98 seconds. However, she is eager to test herself over 200m once more.
“I actually think that me and the 200m might have a lovely little reunion, a little make-up at these Championships,” she said. “We did a lot of testing in the last couple of weeks; we have some time trials that we do before major Champs. It’s looking really good and exciting, so I’m ahead of where I was before Tokyo. I think I can look forward to a happy renewal of our vows next week.”
Home crowd advantage
Hunt's Commonwealth silver came in Glasgow, and she is excited to have the support of a true home crowd in Birmingham.
“I’m someone who really thrives off that competition environment,” she explained. “The noisier it is, the better it is for me. I love it so much. I had a small taste of that in Glasgow – that was my first experience of a somewhat home Championships.
“I can’t wait to see what it’s going to be like as someone who grew up watching London 2012, and then I was in the stadium for the men’s 100m final at London 2017 [World Championships] so I was part of the noise. It would be cool to see the next little lady in the crowd cheering me on.”
Quest for gold
Hunt is still searching for her first major individual gold medal. She will need to overcome British rival Dina Asher-Smith, among others, in this evening's 100m final. The event headlines the opening night in Birmingham, with the starting gun scheduled for 9.50pm.
