Athletics
Amy Hunt claims fourth gold of European Championships with 4x100m relay triumph
Amy Hunt became the first athlete to win four gold medals at a single European championships after Great Britain triumphed in the mixed 4x100m relay at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.
The British quartet of Jeremiah Azu, Dina Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes and Hunt, running in lane four, crossed the finish in a European record 39.97 seconds to beat silver medallists Germany, who finished in 40.11s, and third placed Spain.
Asher-Smith also moved to the outright top of the European Athletics Championships all-time list – for both men and women – with her 11th medal, surpassing Polish sprinter Irena Szewinska’s 10 with her third this week.
That already took her to seven European golds, two more than Szewinska, but she is now the lone athlete at 11 with eight.
The mixed 4×100 relay made its European championships in Birmingham, making it possible for the ambitious Hunt to set her sights on the unprecedented quadruple and Asher-Smith to write more history.
“Oh my gosh, I’m over the moon,” Hunt told the BBC. “And I think to finish it off with some of my best friends in the sport, me and Jeremiah actually have the same birthday so we’re kind of twins.
“To do it all together is incredible, especially because that was the first time we kind of did that changeover about an hour ago in warm-up.
“First time ever – and look how smooth it was. Such professionals. It was a bit like, you know when you’re queuing for a rollercoaster and you’re like a little bit nervous and you’re seeing the drops and stuff, and then when you get off you want to do it again? It was that adrenaline kick certainly. I loved the event.”
The Britons had to wait for a long review to confirm they had become the first European champions of the event, which in and of itself was a learning curve for multiple reasons.
Even the mixed-gender element took some adjusting for Hughes, who collected 4x100m relay bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Speaking to the crowd inside the stadium, he said: “Yeah, it was a bit difficult, because I was like, ‘What does Dina sound like again?’
“I’m so accustomed to a male voice. But obviously I knew I needed to get the job done.
“I got that stick from Dina, she said ‘go!’ so I just let it all out and tried my best to catch Amy, because she flew out.”
Hunt, the 2025 world 200m silver medallist, wrapped up the sprint double before winning gold with the women’s 4x100m relay quartet on Saturday night.
Azu, who collected 100m silver in Birmingham, got Great Britain started with a 10.54s opening leg and Asher-Smith flew down the back straight, handing off to Hughes, the 200m silver medallist this week, after 10.04s.
The crowd roared as Zharnel Huges set Hunt off in 9.53 seconds, and Hunt, the English Literature graduate-turned-history-writer, could not be beat, anchoring the hosts home in 9.86s.
