Women’s 100
The women’s 100m took place entirely on Day 1. There was a prelim round in the morning. I have said it before, and I will say it again. To make some athletes run three times, and others just twice, is intrinsically unfair, but that is what happened. Twelve athletes were given a bye to the semi-finals on the basis of their fastest time this season. The other 12 places were gained from the prelim round.
In the morning, the fastest was Imani Lansiquot, but with the wind legal for one race and not for another, it was meaningless to compare times
There were three semi-finals – I know that is mathematically illogical – with Amy Hunt fastest in 10.99, winning the first race. Géraldine di Tizio-Frey (Switzerland) won heat 2 in 11.02, and Ewa Swoboda won the third in 11.04. The top two in each race qualified along with the two fastest non-qualifiers. There were athletes at 11.08, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. The cut came at 11.12. Small margins.
Going back to my earlier point, in the morning, Boglárka Takács ran a windy 10.93 and 11.13 in the evening, missing the final by 1/100th of a second, and Imani Lansiquot a windy 10.99 in the morning and a 11.16 in the evening. Had the morning’s exertions taken that fraction of a second out of their legs? We will never know. Lansiquot hinted at it: “It wasn’t easy coming in with three rounds on my mind this morning. I just wish I could have made that final.”
It was sad from a GB perspective to see Darryl Neita so far off the pace in the semi-final, but having broken a bone in her foot in April, she did not start her outdoor season until July and was always trying to play catch-up.
The result of the final was
1 Amy Hunt 11.00
2 Ewa Swoboda 11.02
3 Delphine Nkansa 11.06
Dina Asher-Smith was fifth in 11.10.
The race analysis stats were fascinating, showing Hunt seventh after 10m, sixth after 40, third after 80, still second after 90. Hunt often talks about her belief that her top speed exceeds most other athletes and she proved that as she surged to victory.
Hunt said afterward: “I really want to win it all and I’m so happy now I’ve got one out of four done. Hopefully I can take this momentum and the good vibes into the rest of the week. I’m so excited to see what it brings me. I felt so euphoric crossing the line as the first half of the race was a little bit messy. I believe that part of the race was not to the best of my abilities, so I did leave it late in the second half. That was a little bit last-minute of me. I have a long championship left so getting to sleep tonight is vital for me.
“I am so proud of myself; at the end of the day, it is all about getting the gold medal. Not the execution and how far back I was at 30m to go; I am not going to remember that in a few years’ time. Just that I won a fabulous gold.
“As I crossed the line I could have screamed, I could have cried. Everyone knows I am not that emotional and not that good at showing my emotions. But this win is incredibly special to me, with it being the first in the UK. Also, at a track that I raced at so much growing up”.
She talked more about her history at with the stadium: “I won English Schools in this stadium. There are so many people here today who worked at those championships as officials that I have known through growing up in athletics. So, it feels like a full circle moment. I came here in 2022 for the Commonwealth Games to watch because I was on crutches. To now be in front of a home crowd and get that same feeling is special”.
Amy Hunt fastest in Europe has a nice ring to it.
