We talk to a British sprinter who has fully settled into the Italian way of life and is adopting a simple approach when it comes to the pursuit of improved performance

Amy Hunt paints a wholesome picture: a training base in the beautiful and historic city of Padua in northern Italy; an elite and diverse training group working hard on the track to get the best out of themselves and each other; a simple but effective gym routine; good food; and sufficient rest.

She is now in her second year of training with coach Marco Airale. Recent progress – a 60m personal best of 7.09 at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn in March and a 100m PB (11.03) at the Doha Diamond League meeting in May – is evidence of a plan that is working for the 23-year-old who, as a record-breaking junior, was touted as one of the most exciting young sprinters on the planet.

“I took a big leap, but I’m absolutely loving it,” says the Olympic relay silver medallist who moved to Italy after graduating from the University of Cambridge in 2023. “Everyone in the group is so high energy. It really brings the fire into training when you’re training alongside some of the world’s best athletes.”

In addition to the elite environment, more consistent gym work has been central to her progression; in fact, together with Airale, Hunt identified strength work as one of her greatest areas of potential. “We put a lot of emphasis on that as we knew there was a lot to be gained,” she says.

“We train in a basic gym and our sessions are very rudimental, it’s like two different Olympic lifts, one explosive, and one a bit more of a squat or deadlift, then we move to arms, core and calves and hamstrings. It doesn’t need to be flashy and complicated, but I’m doing it a lot more regularly and as I’m getting stronger I find it’s something I enjoy a lot more… I just see it as such an exciting way to get better.”

The former European under-20 200m champion is thriving, and with new marks set over 60m and 100m already this year, it’s surely only a matter of time until her 200m mark of 22.42 – a world under-18 best and British under-20 record set in 2019 – is also improved. Without doubt, moving to Italy has been ‘una buena cosa’.

“It’s a dual thing,” reflects Hunt, “the fact that the training is very, very different to what I was doing in the UK – it’s a lot more intense, a lot higher volume, and the expectations that my coach and I have for myself are very, very high – but also that I’m able to fully be a professional athlete. There’s absolutely no way I could be doing any of this training while I was still at university, it would have killed me, so it’s very freeing to have spent the last two years finally living as a fully professional athlete and dedicating every second of my day to that endeavour.”

Typical training week

Under coach Airale, Hunt’s group – including former Olympic and world champion Omar McLeod – work to a similar schedule throughout the year.

Sessions are late morning, followed by lunch, then gym (three times per week on speed days – Monday, Wednesday and Friday).

“Having a lunch break means we can go somewhere and have genuine whole foods, water and a double espresso before we’re back in the gym, so I think it’s a much healthier approach [compared to fuelling with sugary drinks and snacks],” says Hunt. “We’re still getting the sense of lifting under fatigue, but the rhythm of the day is much more natural for your body and you’re really putting the emphasis on fuelling yourself correctly while keeping it simple.”

Monday: acceleration day plus gym. For example, sleds or 1080 work (the 1080 is a system for resistance training) in winter and blocks or 1080 in summer. “As we transition through the events from 60m to 100m and 200m that could then be block work on the bends – so we move through the seasons – but the general theme of the session is acceleration,” says Hunt.

Tuesday: tempo day such as 6 x 300m off 90 seconds recovery (winter); and reps ranging from 120m - 250m (summer).

Wednesday: max velocity day plus gym. Focus on upright running (during the fastest part of the race – for example, 30m-60/70m). For example, via wickets or 6 x 60m.

Thursday: general strength - a circuit/prehab session focused on, for example, lower limb strengthening and core.

Friday: speed day plus gym. “This is the day that changes a lot more frequently depending on what each person needs. There are usually two or three different sessions running concurrently, so Friday is more specific to what you need as an individual.”

Saturday: tempo day. “In the winter these sessions can be pretty grim,” says Hunt. “As an example, I did one in January that was 2 x (300m - 250m - 200m) with 60 seconds recovery between reps and eight minutes between sets, so our winter stuff usually tends to be high volume with quite short recovery.”

Sunday: rest day

Favourite session: “I really like the longer stuff. One of my favourites is 8 x 200m (rest either 45 or 90 seconds). Another [winter] favourite is 2 x (350m – 300m – 250m) with 45 seconds recovery and two minutes between sets. It’s a very punishing session but I really enjoy it. I think the feeling you get on your last rep when you’re just blacking out is insane. When I do that session well I think things are going to be exciting. It’s just one of those sessions where you have to turn your brain off, get locked into the pace and just run, so it's quite fun being able to do that.”

Least favourite session: “I don’t always enjoy doing the recovery sessions, so if I have something like 10 x 100m [around 70 per cent effort] because I’ve just raced or it’s been a really heavy week, and I see other people doing more fun things, I’m like: ‘Oh, this is so boring!’”