Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium saw a golden British evening on Saturday as Amy Hunt claimed her third title of the European Athletics Championships and Dina Asher-Smith matched two longstanding records in the women’s 4×100 metres relay.
The home quartet stopped the clock in 42.05 seconds, finishing more than a second ahead of Switzerland in 43.12 and Poland in 43.15. Success Eduan, who is 21 and studying midwifery, and Imani-Lara Lansiquot joined Hunt and Asher-Smith to retain the relay title and secure Britain’s second gold of the day.
Hunt’s third gold arrived six days after her 100m triumph and followed her 200m victory. The 24-year-old will now attempt to become the first athlete to win four gold medals at a single edition in the event’s 92 years of history when the mixed 4x100m relay takes place on Sunday.
Asher-Smith now has seven European Championship golds, a figure reached exactly 10 years after her first. That total equals the record held by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic. After claiming bronze in the 200m on Thursday, the 30-year-old also matched Poland’s Irena Szewinska by reaching 10 overall championship medals.
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.”
Only 15 minutes earlier, Britain’s men had delivered their own relay gold. Romell Glave, the 100m champion at these championships, surged down the home straight as the quartet won in 38.45 seconds. Germany crossed in 38.64 for silver and Belgium took bronze in 38.70. Jeremiah Azu, Louie Hinchliffe and Zharnel Hughes, the 200m silver medallist, guided the baton safely around the Alexander Stadium track to huge cheers.
That was a fifth European gold for Hughes, moving him level with Matthew Hudson-Smith, Mo Farah and Roger Black as the most successful British man at the championships. The two relay wins took Britain’s total to 12 medals, including six golds, and kept the hosts within reach of Italy at the top of the table heading into the final day.
The baton exchange from Asher-Smith to Hunt also carried wider significance. Asher-Smith has now accumulated 22 senior international medals since making her debut in the British women’s 4x100m squad at the 2013 World Championships. The world 200m champion and British record holder over both sprint distances was the last athlete to complete a sprint treble at these championships in 2018, 12 months before reaching the top of an individual global podium.
Hunt, who is chasing an “iconic” four golds, will hope to convert this continental dominance into global success in the coming years. After an injury interrupted start to her senior career, the Cambridge University graduate claimed her first individual global medal with world silver in Tokyo last year.
Her first senior international title came in Monday’s 100m final, and she then held off Asher-Smith to win the 200m. Saturday’s relay gold completed the treble. The mixed 4x100m relay is a new addition to these championships and was not an event available to Asher-Smith as she built her record collection. It remains to be seen whether Asher-Smith will also take part in that final, giving her a chance to stand alone as the most successful athlete in championship history.
In the men’s 1500m, Britain’s wait of 40 years for the title continued despite Jake Wightman and Jake Heyward leading on the final bend. Wightman, who returned to the world podium last September after injury setbacks, faded to sixth in 3:37.18. Heyward took fourth in 3:36.40 and Arlo Ludewick fifth in 3:36.65. Dutchman Stefan Nillessen won gold in 3:35.70 from Sweden’s Samuel Pihlstrom and Ireland’s Andrew Coscoran.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson ended the heptathlon in 21st place, with Jade O’Dowda 13th, as Ireland’s Kate O’Connor added European gold to her Commonwealth title. Amber Anning, the 2025 world indoor champion, was forced to withdraw from the 400m final after suffering an injury in her warm-up. Yemi Mary John finished fifth in 51.12 seconds, ahead of Anning’s late replacement Charlotte Henrich in 51.29, while Norway’s Henriette Jaeger won in 49.04 seconds. In the high jump, Morgan Lake cleared 1.88 metres for eighth place as Ukraine’s Olympic champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh took victory with a first attempt clearance at 1.97 metres.
Sunday’s mixed relay now offers Hunt the chance to complete a campaign of four golds no athlete has managed across the championships’ 92 years of history. With Britain still chasing Italy at the summit of the medal table, Asher-Smith may also have a final opportunity to move clear of her shared records.
