Birmingham witnessed a historic night for British sprinting as Amy Hunt collected her third gold of the European Championships and Dina Asher-Smith entered the record books during a commanding women’s 4×100 metres relay victory.
Hunt, 24, added the relay crown to her 100m and 200m titles from earlier in the week, helping Great Britain win Saturday’s second gold of the evening session. The women’s quartet crossed in 42.05 seconds, finishing more than a second clear of Switzerland (43.12) and Poland (43.15).
The sprint newcomer described her teammates as “superwomen” and said it was a “privilege to race with” them. On Sunday she will have a chance to become the first athlete in the 92 year history of the championships to claim four golds at a single edition when the mixed 4x100m relay is contested.
Asher-Smith, 30, secured her seventh European Championships gold a decade after her first. That tally equals the record held by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Croatia’s Sandra Elkasevic. Having won 200m bronze on Thursday, she also matched Irena Szewinska’s overall championships record of 10 medals.
The team also included Imani-Lara Lansiquot, who ran the anchor leg, and 21 year old student midwife Success Eduan. Hunt told BBC Sport: “I am stood next to the real life GOAT [greatest of all time]. She [Asher-Smith] is the most decorated European athlete in history. I am stood next to some amazing women. This girl [Eduan] is a midwife, she brings babies into the world. This girl [Lansiquot] wrote a play. We’re all amazing. That was stunning to come together. I had the time of my life.”
Fifteen minutes earlier, Romell Glave, the 100m champion, anchored the men’s team to gold in 38.45 seconds. Germany took silver in 38.64 and Belgium bronze in 38.70. Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes had kept Britain in front for most of the final. Hughes’ fifth European gold moved him level with Matthew Hudson-Smith, Mo Farah and Roger Black as the most successful British man at these championships.
The relay double raised Great Britain’s medal total to 12, including six golds, keeping the hosts in pursuit of Italy at the top of the table before the final day.
The baton exchange from Asher-Smith to Hunt felt symbolic. While the 30 year old completed a record that took a decade to build, the 24 year old showed her rise is only beginning.
Asher-Smith, a world 200m champion and British record holder over 100m and 200m, has now won 22 senior international medals since debuting in the women’s 4x100m relay squad at the 2013 World Championships. She was the last athlete to achieve a sprint treble at these championships in 2018, 12 months before reaching the top of an individual global podium.
Hunt, a Cambridge University graduate, was the breakout star of this edition. After a world silver in Tokyo last year, she made clear her intention to sweep the sprints on home soil. Her first senior international title came in Monday’s 100m, then she held off Asher-Smith in the 200m, and now the relay treble is complete.
Hunt added: “It’s such a privilege to be able to step on the track with these ladies and the individual superpowers that we bring. It’s no joke. We were all superwomen together out there, and it was so much fun.”
The mixed 4x100m relay is new to the championships, so Asher-Smith has not previously had the chance to add that title to her collection. It remains unclear whether she will join Hunt in Sunday’s event. If she does, she could become the outright most successful athlete in championship history.
Asher-Smith said: “That was my aim, honestly, coming into this season. I knew that with the last European Championships, I was getting a bit close, so it was just in my vision board, but not in the forefront. I’m proud to have done it. It’s been over a decade of hard work with some incredible ladies and incredible championships. So yeah, I’m very happy.”
Great Britain’s 40 year wait for the men’s 1500m title continued after Jake Wightman and Jake Heyward led on the final bend. Wightman faded to sixth in 3:37.18, while Heyward (3:36.40) and Arlo Ludewick (3:36.65) finished fourth and fifth. Dutchman Stefan Nillessen won gold in 3:35.70, ahead of Sweden’s Samuel Pihlstrom and Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson placed 21st in the heptathlon and British teammate Jade O’Dowda was 13th. Ireland’s Kate O’Connor followed her Commonwealth title with European gold.
There was disappointment for 2025 world indoor champion Amber Anning, who withdrew from the women’s 400m final after an injury in her warm up. Yemi Mary John came fifth in 51.12 seconds, one place ahead of replacement Charlotte Henrich (51.29). Norway’s Henriette Jaeger won in 49.04 seconds.
In the women’s high jump, Morgan Lake cleared 1.88 metres for eighth. Ukraine’s Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh took gold with a first time clearance at 1.97 metres.
With one day of competition remaining, Hunt’s pursuit of an unprecedented fourth gold will command attention, while Asher-Smith could add another layer to a career already defined by championship success.
