Amy Hunt anointed herself a track goddess after a ‘sexy and aggressive’ World Championships silver medal — and believes she had plenty of help from heaven.
The 23-year-old produced a stunning finish to the 200 metres final to finish second behind USA’s Melissa Jefferson-Wooden in yesterday’s thrilling race.
Hunt was labelled one of the ‘faces to define the decade’ by Vogue magazine for smashing the Under 18s world record in 2019.
But a toxic combination of long-term injury, draining illness and mental burnout threatened to ruin her career.
In her first major final, she was left trailing after the first 50m but was driven to claw it back by the memory of her grandfather John, who died earlier this year.
Hunt said: ‘I’m so proud of myself. Moments before the race I thought about my grandad, I knew he was watching over me. I knew he was going to guide me.’
Amy Hunt anointed herself a ‘track goddess’ after earning silver at the World Championships
Hunt, 23, said her vibe during the 200 metres final was ‘sexy and aggressive’
Hunt juggled an English Literature degree at Cambridge University just a year after her athletics breakthrough six years ago and has finally written her own happy ending.
‘I’m so proud of myself for choosing the harder path,’ she said. ‘I could have picked an easier way out many times.
‘I chose to go to Cambridge and get a degree but in part to show other young girls you don’t have to give up education.
‘You can be an academic badass and a track goddess. I’m showing you can do everything and anything you set your mind to. You can be the best at everything.
‘Maybe some karaoke tonight will help it sink in.
‘(Hall & Oates song) Maneater. That was the vibe tonight, sexy and aggressive.’
And she added: ‘I have not stopped smiling or crying! As soon as I saw my mum, I burst into tears.’
Hunt’s silver is Great Britain’s second medal of the week and there are likely to be more to follow this weekend.
Keely Hodgkinson underlined her status as the 800m favourite by breezing into tomorrow’s final, while team-mate and training partner Georgia Hunter Bell followed suit.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson was third at the end of day one in the heptathlon, while Max Burgin is a medal shot in today’s men’s 800m final.
Noah Lyles matched Usain Bolt’s record of four straight 200m titles with a stunning performance.
He clocked 19.52sec in a USA one-two from Kenny Bednarek, while Jamaica’s Bryan Levell was third. Britain’s Zharnel Hughes was fifth with a season-best 19.78sec.
The men’s 400m hurdles final came down to Rai Benjamin against the officials. The American was in a class of his own for 360m before crashing into the final hurdle. He displaced the final hurdle of Ezekiel Nathaniel in lane six and was initially disqualified before the video referee overturned the decision.
