The 2025 Novuna British Athletics Championships : Sprint finish, by Stuart Weir
Traditionally, day one of the British Championships ends with the two 100-meter finals. Athletes are running to become British champions, to earn selection for the World Championships in the blue-riband event, and also to secure a place in the relay teams that are expected to win world championship medals. A swirling wind blew throughout the day. In successive prelims, the wind gauge was showing -2 in one and +1.3 in the following, significant differences when you were looking for a qualifying time judged in fractions of a second.
The women’s race came first. Remember that the British selection procedure is that the first two finishers (provided they have the World Athletics standard) are selected for the World Championships, with a third place at the discretion of the selectors. Dina Asher-Smith had opted only to run the 200 at trials, banking on receiving the discretionary third selection place.
The women went to their blocks amid high drama; there was a recall. After consultation, the starter announced, “Disqualify the athlete in lane 6” – Darryl Neita, who finished 4th and 5th in the Paris Olympic sprints!
The result was: 1 Amy Hunt 11.02 PR2 Desiree Henry 11.323 Faith Akinbileje 11.34
Amy Hunt, who is simply one of the nicest people in our sport, said afterwards: “We wanted to view this Championships as another step in the road to Tokyo. I am happy to get my first senior outdoor UK title and book that plane ticket. In championships, you have to move forward day by day, so you must learn how to step up and process things quickly. This is why we did a lot of 60s in the winter. The 1960s were a crazy time for many things that were happening. I reached the world indoor final and came fifth, which taught me a lot about holding my nerve under pressure. In today’s final, I got a slick start first time around. It wasn’t as good after the false start, but I had to stay calm”.
As things stand, Amy Hunt has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics. Desiree Henry has earned the right to be selected, but she does not have the qualifying time. The selectors may choose one athlete. If Henry achieves the world qualifying mark of 11.07, then the selectors will have to choose between Nieta and Asher-Smith. If Henry does not reach the qualifying time, then the selectors will have two choices.
The final event of the day was the men’s 100-meter final. We froze in our seats when there was a recall, knowing that the starter did not take any prisoners and also knowing that our favorite, Zharnel Hughes, had a history of false starts in important races. The starter settled for a green card and a warning to athletes to keep very still until they heard the gun.
The result was: 1 Zharnel Hughes 9.94*2 Jeremiah Azu 9.97*3 Louie Hinchcliffe 10.01*4 Eugene Amo-Dadzie 10.04*
*NB Times with an illegal wind speed
A clear outcome with the top two selected for Tokyo, Hinchcliffe likely to get the discretionary place, and Amo-Dadzie, a relay place.
Hughes said afterwards: “I knew I could win, and I got a sub-10 today, which is important for me. I wanted to be here, get a run in, and feel my legs in the rounds. It could have been faster, but I can build on this. It is nice to hear your name being called out from the stands”.
Afterwards, Hughes and Hunt spent time signing autographs and posing for selfies with young fans. Great to see.
#NovunaBritishAthleticsChampionships, #BritishAthletics, #EuropeanAthletics, #UKChamps, #AmyHunt, #ZharnelHughes,
