ع
Amy Hunt powered through a competitive field to secure the victory at Alexander Stadium, finishing ahead of Poland’s Ewa Swoboda in silver position with a time of 11.02 seconds while Belgium’s Delphine Nkansa claimed bronze, the European Athletics federation reported. Her British teammate Dina Asher-Smith, the defending champion, finished fifth in the final. The result came as Hunt delivered a season-high performance on home soil during the opening days of the championships, which run through August 16. Qatar News Agency coverage of the event noted the narrow margin that separated the top two finishers in a race that underlined the depth of European sprinting talent.
The 24-year-old Hunt entered the championships with an impressive recent record that includes silver in the 200 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, according to her profile on Wikipedia. She holds a personal best of 10.97 seconds in the 100 metres, achieved at the 2026 Stockholm Diamond League, and previously set the world under-18 record in the 200 metres with 22.42 seconds in 2019. Hunt has also contributed to multiple British relay medals, earning silver in the 4×100 metres at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2024 European Championships, ESPN noted in its reporting. The sprinter balanced her athletic development with academic commitments, completing an English Literature degree at Cambridge University in 2023.
The European Athletics Championships in Birmingham have attracted participants from more than 50 nations for a week of track and field competition at the newly prepared Alexander Stadium, the official event overview stated. On the same day as Hunt’s success, Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen captured gold in the men’s 5,000 metres in his first major competition since the 2023 World Championships, the Qatar News Agency reported. Great Britain additionally collected silver in the mixed 4×400 metres relay, adding to the host nation’s tally on the opening day of action. These early results set the tone for a championships expected to feature intense rivalry across multiple disciplines.
Medal table standings after the first full day of competition placed Norway at the top with two gold medals, while Great Britain and Northern Ireland held joint third position alongside Italy with one gold and one silver each, figures from European Athletics showed. The Netherlands occupied second overall with a total of three medals including one gold. Belgium and other nations rounded out the initial rankings with single medals from the sprint events, reflecting the broad spread of success across the participating countries.
Hunt’s consistent sub-11-second performances throughout 2026 positioned her as a leading contender heading into the Birmingham meet, a European Athletics assessment indicated. She had earlier clocked 11.01 seconds to win at the UK Outdoor Championships, building momentum for her European success. The victory marks her first major individual gold medal at senior level, BBC Sport reported in its coverage of the championships.
