Amy Hunt
Amy Hunt is the European Champion at 100m. Add that to her silver medal in the Tokyo worlds at 200m, and she has a strong claim to being the fastest woman in Europe. There is a lot more to Amy than speed.
After winning in Birmingham this week, Amy commented on how she had won English Schools in the Birmingham stadium. (English Schools is the High School national champs but has the aura of American NCAA) As a teenager, Amy was a phenomenal talent, then injuries took their toll.
Then, at the recent London Diamond League, the press conference featured Amy and Gabby Thomas; Geoff Wightman described it as the most intelligent presser in history! Gabby is a Harvard graduate, and Amy is from Cambridge.
Cambridge is an old-fashioned university in an old city. Students in the UK normally do not have cars, and in any case there is little or no city center parking in Cambridge and none at her college. Remember too that there are no athletic scholarships in the UK. She was an English Literature student and what she did in her spare time – run at the elite level – was of no interest to the university. The university system cut her no slack. There was no elite coaching or training group in Cambridge so Amy trained at Loughborough with her dad picking her up in Cambridge, driving her to Loughborough and back – a round trip of around 300 miles.
Aged 16, Amy ran 11.56 for the 100m. Aged 22, her PR was just 11.12. She was in danger of being a teenage sensation who never developed as a senior. After graduating Amy took a big decision to relocate to Padua in Northern Italy to join a group including several British athletes working with coach Marco Airale. Athletes like Darryl Neita and Jeremiah Azu subsequently left the Italian group, but Imani Lansiquot joined. Given her degree, Amy has a deep interest in the Renaissance and spends her days off in Italian museums.
While some athletes answer questions as if reading a statement prepared by their lawyer, Amy is open and engaging. I bumped into her on a street in Glasgow last week, and she stopped to chat. I was not in the least surprised. She is a lovely lady and a great athlete. Last year I arranged an interview with her. She had promised me 20 minutes. After 35 minutes, I asked if she was OK for time. She replied that she was enjoying our chat.
It took her a few years to join the 10 sec for 100m club but now expect to see her PR drop steadily.
