Lausanne
It has been a busy summer for Amy Hunt! Second in Oslo and Stockholm; running in Pre, London and Rome. Taking silver in the Commonwealth Games. Going sub-11 for the first time and doing it 3 times. Then at the European Championships she won the 100 and 200 and added further gold medals in the 4X100 relays – women and mixed. After a couple of days off, she was heading for Lausanne.
At the Athletissima press conference in Lausanne, Amy was asked why she took on the challenge of going for 4 gold medals at the European Championship. She replied: “It was really, really important to me. Birmingham is so close to where I live and grew up. It is the track where I won the English Schools Championship. Also, it’s such a privilege for any athlete to ever have a home championships. So, for me, being able to step up and seize the moment was really incredible. I had the most fun out there.
She added that “‘Championships-Amy’ is a different person. She’s a bit of a menace and whatnot. I had a lot of fun, and we knew it would be kind of a good trial run for heading into the next few major champs to see how my body dealt with seven races in seven days, but also how my mind was, how much I was able to be disciplined in my recovery and staying off socials and stuff. So it was a really nice practice for the Worlds in Beijing, LA and beyond.
“The last two days were like, ‘I don’t want to talk to anybody. I don’t want to open my mouth, don’t talk to me’. But no, doing interviews, interacting with fans is all part of what we do. And I think in these championships in the UK, we saw really cut through to the general public in a way that it probably hasn’t before. Even when I went back home and was getting recognized and stuff, it was really great to see track being elevated a bit through the European Championships and that Birmingham was the place that did it. So that was interesting for me. A lot of talking, a lot of smiling. They even made me sing twice, and I really can’t sing. But yeah, it was a great kind of experience. And like I said, we’re just constantly learning about how to deal with these things and seeing what works best for me, but I like chatting, so it was fun, amazing”.
As an observer of Birmingham, it was noticeable that Amy always seemed ready to sign autographs, pose for selfies and give back to the fans.
The result of the 200m in Lausanne was:
1 WHITE Kayla USA 22.18
2 HUNT Amy GBR 22.32(.314)
3 OFILI Favour 22.32(.317
Amy said of Lausanne: “I was tired before the race and the competition felt pretty stiff, but tonight was just so much fun. Knowing there was a headwind on the straight, we decided to run a very aggressive first bend and see if my strength would carry me through, and I honestly surprised myself. The crowd going crazy and seeing all the kids with posters made it so special. Running in my training partner Timothe Mumenthaler´s home region felt amazing, and this year showed me that things can still work out even with issues before.”
“That was so much fun. I expected to come in here a lot more tired, when I did my pre-meet yesterday I was pretty stiff and it took a while to get my big legs moving. I knew it was going to be a really competitive race with some incredible ladies, so I was trying to make my moves in the first half and see if my strength could carry me.
“I honestly really surprised myself; it was such a happy and pleasant surprise post-Europeans and after a lot of travel. I love performing, I love coming out here for a crowd, they really lifted me. It’s a magical experience. This season has taught me that it really doesn’t have to be perfect. There have been so many times when I’ve been crying, screaming, really down, but this year has shown me that things can still work out in the end.”
(Quotes on Lausanne race from BBC and Diamond League flash quotes)
