BIRMINGHAM — Amy Hunt is no longer simply knocking on the door of European sprinting glory. In front of a home crowd in Birmingham, she has kicked it wide open.
The British sprinter produced another composed performance at the 2026 European Athletics Championships, winning the women’s 200m gold in 22.19 seconds to add a second individual title to the 100m crown she secured earlier in the championships.
For Hunt, the victory represents more than another medal. It confirms her emergence as one of the leading sprint forces in European athletics and puts her in sight of an extraordinary four-gold-medal haul.
Hunt delivers when the pressure is highest
The 200m final was expected to be a battle between Britain’s Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith, but Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke ensured the race had a dramatic twist.
Hunt held her nerve through the bend before producing the decisive finish. Her 22.19-second run was enough to take gold, with Adeleke pushing hard to claim silver and Asher-Smith securing bronze.
Women’s 200m final
Gold — Amy Hunt (Great Britain): 22.19
Silver — Rhasidat Adeleke (Ireland): 22.28
Bronze — Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain): 22.29
The margins underlined just how competitive the race was. Adeleke was only 0.09 seconds behind Hunt, while Asher-Smith finished just 0.01 seconds further back.
For Britain, it was another memorable moment: Hunt took gold while her training partner and compatriot Asher-Smith added bronze.
From 100m champion to 200m queen
Hunt arrived at the 200m final already carrying the weight of expectation.
Earlier in the championships, she had won the 100m in 11.00 seconds, establishing herself as the fastest woman in the field over the shorter sprint. She then carried that momentum into the 200m, where the greater demands of the race tested both speed and endurance.
The result was her second individual European title of the championships.
It is also another major step in a career that has already included a world 200m silver medal at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, where she ran 22.14 seconds.
Her 22.19 in Birmingham was also a significant improvement on her previous personal best of 22.08 seconds, according to season-entry data from earlier in 2026.
Adeleke returns to the European spotlight
While Hunt celebrated gold, Rhasidat Adeleke delivered one of the most encouraging performances of the evening.
The Irish sprinter had endured an injury-hit period but produced a strong run to take silver in 22.28 seconds. Her performance showed that she is once again moving into contention among Europe’s elite sprinters.
Adeleke’s late surge also made the finish considerably tighter than many expected, denying Britain a one-two finish.
Asher-Smith eventually settled for bronze in 22.29 seconds, but the medal added another chapter to her remarkable European Championships record. It was reported as her seventh European Championships medal.
The bigger target: four European golds
Hunt’s celebrations may have to wait.
With the individual sprint double now complete, the British star has two relay opportunities remaining: the women’s 4x100m and the newly introduced mixed 4x100m.
That gives Hunt a genuine chance to chase something unprecedented — four gold medals at a single edition of the European Championships.
The challenge now changes from individual brilliance to team execution. The pressure will be different, the tactics will be different, and there will be more athletes sharing responsibility.
But Hunt has already made her statement.
Two races. Two European titles.
And with two relay opportunities still to come, Birmingham could yet become the stage where Amy Hunt turns a brilliant championships into a piece of European athletics history.
Key Numbers
Athlete: Amy Hunt
Country: Great Britain
Age: 24
Event: Women’s 200m
European Championships: 2026, Birmingham
Gold-medal time: 22.19 seconds
100m gold: 11.00 seconds
200m silver: Rhasidat Adeleke — 22.28
200m bronze: Dina Asher-Smith — 22.29
Previous 200m personal best: 22.08 seconds
2025 World Championships: 200m silver, 22.14 seconds
Next target: Women’s 4x100m and mixed 4x100m relay gold
Why This Matters
Amy Hunt’s Birmingham campaign is becoming much bigger than a successful European Championships.
The 100m victory proved she could handle the pressure of being the favourite. The 200m triumph showed she could reproduce that performance over a longer sprint and against a strong field.
Now comes the possibility of history.
If Hunt can help Britain win both relay titles, she could leave Birmingham with four European gold medals — a feat that would take her championship campaign from impressive to extraordinary.
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