The British sprinter excelled on the world stage with 200m silver in Tokyo but, as she explains, it was a run in London that provided one of the defining moments of her career.
It was the performance that kept him going through the darkest of times; was proof that there was something worth fighting for as the effects of a serious injury hit hard. However, with fitness fully restored in the early stages of this outdoor season, it also began to pack more weight. A source of frustration as much as inspiration.
Amy Hunt was just 17 years old in the summer of 2019 when she ran the 200m in 22.42, an under-18 world record that established her as an exceptional young sprinting talent. For a variety of reasons, whether it was Covid, the challenge of juggling athletics with a top degree in English Literature at Cambridge, or a torn left quadriceps that required surgery, the now 23-year-old passed this year with a mark that still represented her personal best. In his view, however, it certainly no longer represented the ceiling of his abilities.
“When I had my surgery, I thought: “I ran faster than all my idols when I was 17, so obviously I have something,” he says of that record. “I had this intangible, visceral feeling. “I have to be good. I have that ability inside of me,” and I knew it wasn’t going to go away. That run happened for a reason. You can’t go that fast through pure chance or coincidence.
“It was starting to get frustrating as we moved into this year because I kept saying, “I can’t believe that 17-year-old me is faster than I am running now. He was really fast.”
After graduating from university in the Italian city of Padua in the summer of 2023 and teaming up with coach Marco Eirale, Hunt spent much of that time rehabilitating himself. “When I first joined this group, there was still such a big difference between the left and the right,” he says. “Because the injury was so traumatic, it killed my nerves. It took a long time to reorganize everything, strengthen that side and restore all the nerve connection. A lot of what we did in the first year was just balancing, and then when we started again a year ago, it was like; “Okay.
Hunt has been one of the world’s most competitive athletes in 2025 and after an indoor season in which he lowered his 60m PB from 7.21 to 7.09 and finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships, the time was right to start rewriting his outdoor marks.
Everything was coming together and a then 100m PB of 11.03 (his best is now 11.02) came straight after at the Doha Diamond League in early May, but it was the 200m time that mattered most, and one that was proving elusive.
A run of 22.44, albeit with an illegal 2.5 wind, put it in jeopardy in mid-May, while he clocked 22.67 at the Rome Diamond League in June, while revealed to be suffering from shingles, and 22.45 at the Paris Diamond League partly due to an unfriendly draw. “The conditions were there for a lot of the race, but it just didn’t quite happen,” he says.
Hunt’s next opportunity, it turned out, would come in London. A wide smile spreads across his face as he recalls the Diamond League match.
“It was in front of 60,000 home fans and all my family, coaches, agents were there. My best friend Julie was there taking pictures so I ended up running over and giving her a hug,” she says. The hug was also very festive. Hunt had a 22.31, a run that represented a lot.
“In a way, it was like saying goodbye to the younger version of Amy and the next phase of my life and my career,” she says. “The process of growing up, almost. It has turned over a new leaf for me and given me the confidence that I am finally my own sprinter again. I don’t have that 17-year-old boy sitting on my back.”
“I ran 22.31 and after the race the coach told me, “You know, you’re going to run that (something) in two years, and you’re going to turn to me and be really, really nervous.” It’s funny, but a month later, at the Diamond League in Silesia, I ran at exactly the same time as he was very angry. “Remember what I told you in London?” I went from this person crying at 22.42 to now being so angry at myself that it was actually still 22.31.
An even greater indicator of Hunt’s development came at the World Cup. He had reached the semi-finals of the 100m in Tokyo but had high hopes of making a bigger impact in the half-distance event, fully aware that his finishing power and speed could take him a long way. Heading into Japan, her PB now stood at 22.14 from the British Championships Photo Final, which had just gone Dina Asher-Smith’s way, but it proved to be another highlight of the summer.
Another chunk was taken off Hunt’s PB in the World Championships semi-final when he clocked 22.08. In the final, American Melissa Jefferson-Wooden raced to gold, but the medals were up for grabs behind her, and the Brit quickly took her by the time she reached silver. It proved that he could remain calm under the most difficult circumstances.
“My parents gave me a small compact mirror that lights up, and sometimes in the call room I’ll use it to put on my makeup, which may seem like a very pointless thing to do, but it’s a tactic to calm yourself down,” Hunt says of her pre-race prep. “You can’t really shake your hand when you’re lining your lips, so it’s a tactic to bring that moment back with you and remember that you’re here, you’re present. Just feel it and don’t worry about what’s going to happen. I enjoy the feeling of being in the call room, sitting there and feeling the precipice of something.”
Walking out to the track, the acquaintance was a friend of Hunt’s.
“(At the World Championships) I was always in the fifth lane (for the 200m),” he adds. “When I reached the final, I was saying: “This is exactly the same pair of blocks, this is the right line, the angles, the curves, the trajectories are the same.” And I had a PB the day before, so I was thinking.
“I remember standing at the starting line, really taking in the moment, looking out at the crowd and thinking, “All these people have come to cheer us on and they’re so excited to watch the race. And I’m so excited for the race.” I was so ready to go.”
A false start by Bahamian sprinter Antonique Strachan added to the challenge, but as the final drew to a close, thoughts quickly turned to Hunt.
“I can definitely hear the crowd (when I’m racing), but it’s like the crowd noise you hear in the movies, where it’s more background noise,” he says. “I’m trying to listen to my thoughts, the race plan, trying to figure out where I am in the race and if I need to change tactics. So much is going through your mind at that moment.
“Since I was in the fifth row and Marie-José Tha Lou-Smith was in the fourth, we said, “As long as you don’t see him, or he passes you, with 100 meters to go, you’ll be all right.” to be good because I’m a lot stronger than the other girls, so I just have to put myself in a position where I can do damage later.”
“When I got to 100 meters I realized we were all on the same line and I was just trying to stay focused. I kept swearing in my head and thinking.
“I don’t remember anything about the middle part of the race. I just remember hitting the edge of the turn and thinking, “Oh my God, I’m going to do this,” and then about 20m away (from the line) is the next memory. I’m just trying to think. “Keep your shape.”
“I tried a few races this year that set me up incredibly well for Tokyo. For example, in the British Championships, for example, in the 200m final, I probably dived a little bit too early for the line, but that was so, so helpful because when we got to Tokyo, I wasn’t doing the same thing. soak well enough.
“So all these lessons were going through my mind and I crossed the line and jumped on it. I knew there were two or three of us in the mix and I thought I was ahead, but I was never sure.”
It was soon confirmed that Hunt had secured second place ahead of defending champion Sherika Jackson. After the festivities, there was some tourist time with mom in Japan after the championship, then a vacation in St. Lucia. When Hunt speaks to AW, he does so from his home in Padua. Training has resumed and there are plenty of goals to aim for next year, from the World Indoors to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the European Championships in Birmingham and the new final World Athletics Championships.
“We’re not afraid to go all out,” he says. “In the 60m I was fifth in the world this year and that’s now the expectations for next year. This is the standard. We’re starting to encroach more on British records and that’s another big target. I’m just a very competitive person, so I’m looking forward to the many competitions next year.”
If she achieves some of her goals in 2026, Hunt could complete another year of being named AW’s British Female Athlete of the Year. For now, he’s going to enjoy this one, though.
“I think we forget how strong a nation we are in track and field,” he says. “When we talk to people from other countries and obviously when I talk to other people in my training group, they really respect Great Britain in terms of its athletics heritage, its history, its athletes.
