The UK 200m champion is based in Manchester and juggling her sprints career with midwifery training.

Living up to her name, 21-year-old Success Eduan delivered the performance of her life to win the British 200m title in a 22.43 personal best and continue a positive trend of year on year progression since winning her first major title at the English Schools Championships at the same venue in 2018 (24.71).

Context is important. While Eduan’s victory deservedly made headlines – not least because she powered past world 200m silver medallist Amy Hunt in the home straight and guaranteed selection for the upcoming European Athletics Championships – it’s worth noting that she achieved it in the midst of her midwifery finals, juggling exams and long hospital hours with her final track preparations.

“It’s definitely been very hard, but it’s doable,” she admits. “I think a lot of it comes down to communication with my coach [Anita Richardson] and flexibility, because whatever session she has planned, it might not necessarily be the session I end up doing that day.

“The last couple of months of my degree have been the toughest of the last three years, so it’s just been trying to manage how I feel. There have been days where I haven’t wanted to train but I haven’t wanted to go home either because I knew I’d just wallow and be stressed. Instead we’ve changed the session because I know if I’m not mentally in it, there’s no point in trying to push it physically.”

There’s an element of asking the right questions, too. “I'm always the one who’ll ask why we’re doing a certain session,” she adds. “I want to be able to go into training knowing what I'm trying to get out of it, whether it’s to get ready for rounds at the British Championships or to build endurance, that kind of thing. I'm very particular and I like things done a certain way. That can obviously be my downfall, but it can be a blessing at the same time.”

Eduan is without question a championship performer. She’s a two-time European U20 200m bronze medallist (in addition to winning 4 x 100m relay gold in 2021 and silver in 2023) and in 2025 won gold in the 200m and 4 x 100m relay at the European U23 Championships. Her top three fastest-ever performances have come in major finals and the recent London Athletics Meet. 

“I think it’s just my mentality,” she says. “When it comes to the big championships I can see people who are way faster than me and it just fires me up a lot more than when there’s not as much on the line. I feel like I'm a different person.

“It’s not necessarily about my ego – I don't really have an ego – but it's what I've worked for and if there’s a medal on the line or if I’m being introduced on an international stage, I think I just see something so much bigger and I want to set a tone.”

All being well, Eduan will complete her midwifery degree in September – a hugely satisfying conclusion to a challenging but exciting summer that should leave her proud of her endeavours on and off the track.

Ultimately, whether by name, nature or nurture, this young athlete has the attitude of a champion. “It doesn’t mean that I’m not going to fail because I certainly will fall down,” she says; “but it’s how I get back up from that. I’m trying to live within my name and to just keep working hard to be a success in every area of my life.”

A typical training week (winter)

Eduan – who has been coached by Richardson since 2017 – trains with Sale Harriers Manchester and describes her toughest winter training weeks as “the bank for the outdoor season”.

While her training hasn’t changed significantly in recent years, her coaching team (including physiotherapist and biomechanics expert Chris Bramah and former 400m runner Clovis Asong) has incorporated more tailored strength and conditioning and gym work which she believes has contributed to her continued ability to deliver high quality performances.

• Monday: heavy speed endurance session e.g., 8 x 200m (short recovery), up to 4 x 250m repeats (recovery between 5-8min) or 100m-200m-300m-200m-100m (3min recovery after 100m, 4min after 200m, 5min after 300m then same back down) followed by a core circuit. “That's a session that we really have to come prepared for, it’s probably one of the hardest sessions of the week,” says Eduan. “For the core exercises you feel like the world's about to end because you're so exhausted.” 
• Tuesday: gym and tempo run (e.g., grass runs or 100m repeats focused on technique rather than speed)
• Wednesday: 10-15min run followed by yoga or Pilates 
• Thursday: technical speed session e.g., starts, wickets, hurdles and resistance running. “We don't want to lose sight of speed but we don't overemphasise it either, especially if we’re not competing indoors,” she says. “There’s so much to work on in these sessions and although they’re shorter, they’re quite draining. I know what I want to achieve though, so it’s important for me to work on my technical weaknesses.”
• Friday: rest
• Saturday: hill session e.g., long hills (200m+), then shorter reps of 150m, 90m and 30m, followed by gym 
• Sunday: rest. “I don’t compromise my Sundays,” says Eduan. “Sundays are ‘me’ time. I spend time with my family and I go to church. Those days are really important to me.”

Favourite session: “In the summer I like two to three sets of 120m-90m-60m.”

Least favourite session: “I hate repeat 200s. I know I'm a 200m athlete but having repeat 200s and seeing that same bend every single time, it’s the bane of my life. I really, really hate it. So when that usually comes around in the winter it's the worst thing. There's no session when it comes to 200m repeats where I do not cry and sob!”