Amy Hunt surpasses expectations after claiming fourth European Championship gold
British sprinter Amy Hunt was delighted to have succeeded beyond her wildest dreams after becoming the first athlete to win four gold medals at a single European Championships.
The 24-year-old world silver 200m medallist sealed her unprecedented quadruple in the inaugural mixed 4x100m relay final in front of a sold-out crowd at the Alexander Stadium to conclude a six-medal super Sunday in Birmingham.
Dina Asher-Smith also moved to the outright top of the European Athletics Championships all-time list with her 11th medal, and silver for Matt Hudson-Smith in the men’s 4x400m relay, bringing the hometown hero to nine, made him the outright most-decorated man in the history of the European Championships, and there was also gold for Georgia Hunter Bell in the 1500m final.
“Oh my gosh, (I feel) just sensational!” said Hunt. “I think it surpassed my expectations for myself at this champs, not in terms of just the golds, but how I’ve handled myself, how I’ve handled all the pressure, the attention, the recovery, the discipline of it all.
“Not getting too caught up in the highs and staying kind of true to myself, keeping humble and keeping my foot on the gas the whole way through the week. Seven races in seven days is no easy feat.”
Jeremiah Azu, Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Hunt beat Germany and Spain in 39.97s.
Asher-Smith joined Polish sprinter Irena Szewinska on 10 European medals with women’s 4×100 relay triumph on Saturday after also collecting 200m bronze earlier in the week, although she already had two more golds to her name.
With Sunday’s addition, the British record-holder is now up to eight European golds, and is the lone athlete with 11 medals overall.
“It hasn’t sunk in at all,” she said, when asked about her achievement. “At this point in my career, I’m just having fun. I’m just seeing what can be maxed out because I’m fortunate enough to stand on the line, and I don’t really have much to prove. I’d like an Olympic gold, but that’s kind of the only thing that’s on my bucket list.
“Being able to kind of come here and just kind of have fun and do some more events is a privilege. It’s definitely a privilege.”
The mixed 4×100 relay made its European Championships debut in Birmingham, opening the possibility for the ambitious Hunt to set her sights on four titles on home soil after clinching a sprint double, then women’s 4x100m gold.
Hunt and Asher-Smith confirmed that they were not unduly affected by security measures at the venue on Saturday night, when it was previously understood that all of the teams in that evening session’s two relays were unable to leave on time due to security measures as a result of a police incident.
The women’s 4x400m relay quartet of Yemi Mary-John, Lina Nielsen, Nicole Yeargin and Emily Newnham struck silver, while their men’s counterparts, Hudson-Smith, Toby Harries, Ben Jeffries and Dobson finished three one hundredths of a second behind Italy in the competition’s closing race.
Jazmin Sawyers also snatched silver in the long jump, and Abbie Donnelly became the first British woman to win a marathon medal at the European Championships, with bronze.
