Double European champion opens up about the health scare that means she "hasn't been able to touch her potential" over 200m this year.

The 200m is normally Amy Hunt’s safe place. It’s the distance at which she first came to the world’s attention as a teenager, the distance at which she is able to best utilise her height, strength and power. The distance at which she won silver at the world championships in Tokyo last year.

In 2026, however, racing and training for the half-lap event has been laced with jeopardy for the 24-year-old. While her 100m times have been plummeting impressively, she has also spent the year dealing with Achilles tendinopathy that has hardly helped – but that’s not all. 

Hunt is an athlete who radiates positivity and she was beaming at the Alexander Stadium again on Thursday evening after completing the sprint double at the European Championships with 200m victory in Birmingham. But, with a tiara on her head and another gold medal added to the growing collection, she openly discussed what had been a real cause for concern.

At the London Diamond League meeting in July, after coming fifth in the 200m, things took a sinister turn after she stepped away from the track. 

“I had to be taken off to the medical room,” she revealed. “I was on the floor on the verge of fainting and we had to do a lot of medical tests. I’ve had a lot of scary heart tests and stuff, and a lot going on this year. 

“We haven’t been able to touch anywhere near my potential in the 200m, so that’s probably why the 100m has been going a lot better because we’ve been able to do the speed work, but not so much the endurance work because I’ve just been on the verge of fainting.”

And the cause?

“We managed to figure out that it was low blood pressure and, actually, there’s been another athlete at this championships, Nadia Battocletti, who has spoken about having the same issue,” added Hunt, who is coached by Marco Airale and is based in Italy.

“Luckily, I’m sponsored by a supplement brand, so it means I can have a lot of super salty electrolytes to raise my blood pressure, and we’ve been doing a lot of work with cold towels and stuff, just making sure that I’m moving around in between reps and not just standing still. 

“I also have to take my blood pressure every day at training, like an old lady. It definitely hasn’t been the most straightforward journey.

“They have no idea [what caused it] but my sister’s a nurse, and she said: ‘If you had that blood pressure on the ward, I’d be really worried about you. I’d be pressing the bell’. Luckily I have such an incredible coaching staff and family that take care of me. My mum and my sister are flying back and forth from Italy, and going back and forth from London, taking care of me. So it’s been such a big family effort.”

There was understandable trepidation on Hunt’s part, then, when she lined up for the 200m semi-finals earlier in the week. She has been very public about her pursuit of four gold medals at these championships but getting through that stage was particularly significant. 

“I’m so proud of the semi because I was almost scared coming back into doing the 200m after London, after the way I felt,” she said of a race that she won in 22.37, easing down. 

“You guys are used to me finishing the race and walking straight off, and everyone else is on the floor. But that was the first time I was on the floor, and everyone else was walking off. So I was a bit apprehensive, but then that kind of dispelled all my worries. 

“[On the day of the final] I woke up with such an utter feeling of calm. I felt so peaceful and tranquil. Because, the same as the 100, I had such an overwhelming premonition that it was going to be my day. I could feel it in the air when I walked out and I knew it didn’t matter what anyone else was going to run, that I was always going to win.”

Given the struggles of the past few months, 200m victory tasted particularly sweet. “Are you not entertained?” screamed Hunt down the TV cameras, the line from the movie Gladiator coming to mind after an almighty battle with British record-holder Dina Asher-Smith and Irish record-holder Rhasidat Adeleke. 

“I’ve always likened the sprints to being a gladiator in the arena,” she added. “I love Gladiator. My dad always quotes it to me. Before races, he always says 'strength and honour' [another line from the film]. It's definitely something that I keep with me. I love to put on that show. Bring the entertainment to the crowd.”

As for the celebration, the Cambridge graduate added: “I think it was spontaneous. I never plan these things. They just come out of nowhere. I just love being an entertainer. I love this sport and I love my job.”

There is still work to do this week, as Hunt’s attention now switches to the 4x100m and 4x100m mixed relay. She has been largely avoiding her phone and will be taking advantage of all the recovery aids at her disposal, from compression trousers and socks through to melatonin and cherry juice, though she added: “You can be really complicated with all this equipment, but it can also be really simple in terms of just getting sleep and food in.”

But she will do go about the tasks at hand with a satisfaction at having been able to navigate these choppy waters – and becoming friends with the 200m again. 

“That’s what’s been really testing this year, refinding my footing, having had the events [the 100m and 200m] kind of switch places in terms of superiority, in terms of my confidence with them,” she said.  

“But I think that makes me all the stronger because, as kind Darren Campbell said to me after the semi: ‘Now you know you can win a 200m any way you’d like. You’re strong enough at the end, but you also are one of the fastest on the bend now, so you can win it from the first 100m,’ and that’s the most privileged and amazing position to be in. This has been a reconfirmation that I do love the 200m, and the 200m loves me back.”