Amy Hunt has revealed she battled fears of fainting before powering to a sensational 200 metres triumph and completing a remarkable European sprint double in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old produced another outstanding performance at Alexander Stadium on Thursday night, clocking 22.19 seconds to add the 200m crown to the 100m title she had already secured three nights earlier.
Hunt held off Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, who set a national record of 22.28secs, while fellow Briton Dina Asher-Smith claimed bronze in 22.29secs.
But Hunt’s latest gold came despite the Newark sprinter admitting she had endured frightening problems with low blood pressure in training this year.
Those issues had made the gruelling 200m particularly daunting, with Hunt revealing she has come close to fainting after several runs over the distance.
“Honestly, I think the 100 is the hardest mentally. And the 200 is the hardest physically,” she said.
“I have had a lot of health things going on this year – some really, really low pressure.
Amy Hunt has revealed she battled fears of fainting before powering to a sensational 200 metres triumph and completing a remarkable European sprint double in Birmingham
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REUTERS
“The 200s have been really scary. I have been nearly fainting after a lot of my 200s this year.
“I had just to go into that one and get on the bend and be really brave. It was an amazing race.”
Hunt’s victory saw her emulate Asher-Smith’s achievement at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, when the British star also completed the 100m and 200m double.
Amy Hunt admitted to an ‘amazing race’ after claiming gold once more
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REUTERS
Yet the Cambridge-educated sprinter is not finished.
Hunt could remarkably leave Birmingham with four European gold medals, with the women’s 4x100m and mixed 4x100m relays still to come this weekend.
She made her ambitions clear in front of a championship-high crowd of 20,082, initially holding two fingers towards the camera to mark her sprint double before raising four to signal her ultimate target.
“That’s two out of four,” Hunt said. “In the race, I was thinking about my coach.
“Before I went in, he said, ‘Just imagine me in lane 10 with a stopwatch and a whistle. Just keep those thighs up, girl. Just keep going.’
“I was just thinking of him and trying not to make the mistake of getting caught up in other people’s battles.”
Amy Hunt could remarkably leave Birmingham with four European gold medals, with the women’s 4x100m and mixed 4x100m relays still to come this weekend
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REUTERS
Hunt described a memorable week in Birmingham as “magical” but insists any proper celebrations will have to wait until her relay commitments are complete.
“There’s no celebrating, no champagne until Sunday night, because I have a debt to the ladies,” she added.
“We have to make sure we come here and make sure we show them who is the best sprint nation in Europe.
“I have got the 4×100 metres and mixed 4×100 metres coming up. It is not over yet. I hope you are not sick of my face.”