by Stuart Weir
Amber Anning wins the 400
When Amber Anning lined up to start the 400m final at the World Indoors in Nanjing, she glanced across at a team-mate – no, not another GB athlete – a fellow Arkansas Razorback, Rosey Effiong, with whom she had won the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Champs, under the management of Head Coach, Chris ‘Captain’ Johnson. Team-mates then but not today, Amber left Rosey in her wake as she powered home to win.
It was an exciting race with Anning on the outside lane. As the athletes broke from lanes, Anning tried to take the lead but was met by some physical resistance from Alexis Holmes, who felt that she was in the inside lane, in the lead, and was not budging. There was no space for anyone else. Anning dropped in behind her and then made her move on the final straight. Anning finished in 50.60, Holmes in 50.63.
Two weeks ago, Anning went to the European Indoors as a favorite and ran a fast race in the prelim, winning easily. Her celebrations were cut short when she was told she had been disqualified for a lane violation. She was distraught.
As the weekend progressed, she put aside her frustration and anchored the women’s 4 by 400 relay team to a national record-setting silver medal.
In Nanjing, she showed the world what she was capable of. It was a nice touch and very appropriate that the person holding the British flag for her to wrap around herself as a medalist was Jeremiah Azu. “We’ve been in this sport for as long as I can remember,” she said. “Coming through the junior ranks and seeing both of us get our first world titles here is a dream come true. It’s the moment I’ll speak about all week”.
Her reaction to the win was: “It feels fantastic. It was a very close race, probably not quite what I had imagined regarding my execution, but I was just so grateful that I could come away and get the win, and I fought to the end. It wasn’t the cleanest of races, but in the end, I was competitive. In the last 20-30 meters, I think I lost control of myself and my technique. But I knew the race wasn’t over until it was over, and I just had to use my strength to dig deep. I came here wanting the win after the disappointment of the Europeans. I wanted the gold, and I’m grateful that I was able to get the job done and bring home a medal.
“I think I expended a bit of unnecessary energy, and I was disappointed when I looked at the clock, especially when I knew there was way more in me, especially when I ran yesterday. It was such a smooth race, but I knew that with the caliber of girls in this race, it would be close and tough to get that break. But I stayed strong; I had faith in myself, and got to the end, and fought for that line.”
Her week’s work is finished, as GB does not have relay teams in Nanjing.
