Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith wrote their names into the European Athletics Championships history books by helping the Novuna Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team to 4x100m mixed relay gold, resulting in the team finishing in second place on the medal table.
Hunt (Marco Ariale) led the quartet home on the final leg to seal her fourth gold of an incredible week, the first athlete to achieve such a feat at this event.
“Four golds was the dream and perhaps dreams do come true,” said Hunt. “I don’t think I can begin to communicate what it means. It’s so beyond the bounds of my dreams that I’m just euphoric right now. I can’t believe it’s happening.
“I think it will sink in later, maybe on the podium, I don’t know. I’m just so proud of myself and the way I’ve handled this week.”
It also meant an 11th European podium finish for Asher-Smith (Blackheath & Bromley, Michael J Ford), who took on the back straight. She now has more medals at this competition than anybody else.
“When I started in this sport, all I wanted to be was fast,” said Asher-Smith. “I’m incredibly humbled and grateful to be in this position and still medalling 12 years after my European debut and 13 years after my senior debut as a 17-year-old.”
Azu (Cardiff Athletics, Helen James) and Hughes (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, Glen Mills) have also had a glittering time in Birmingham, with this a second 4x100m gold to add to their individual silvers. Hughes’ sixth European gold takes him to the most successful British male athlete in Championship history. The quartet’s time of 39.97 is a new European record in this new event.
Georgia Hunter Bell (Belgrave Harriers, Trevor Painter) claimed the last individual track medal on offer in Birmingham with a dominant success in the women’s 1500m.
The newly-crowned Commonwealth 800m champion effortlessly stepped up in distance and kicked clear around the final bend to go to cross in 4:07.78 for her first European gold.
“It wasn’t easy, it’s never easy, but I felt really calm and confident,” she said. “I have been on a winning streak, I have had failures before when I’ve been the favourite but I’ve really just tried to relax everything and not overcomplicate it. When it’s time to go, get going.”
Jazmin Sawyers (City of Stoke AC, Aston Moore) earned her third European medal 10 years after her first as she claimed silver in the women’s long jump. Sawyers recorded a best leap of 6.99m and finished just a centimetre behind the champion, Italy’s Larissa Iapichino.
Molly Palmer (Thames Valley Harriers, Lukasz Zawila) finished ninth in her maiden senior European final with a best leap of 6.54m.
Two silvers were earned across the men’s and women’s 4x400m relays, which concluded the Championships.
The women’s race was first up and saw Yemi Mary John (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies, Alan James), Lina Nielsen (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, Jack Green), Nicole Yeargin (Pitreavie, Gregory Scholars) and Emily Newnham (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, Nick Dakin) finish second in 3:21.68.
Newnham took on Femke Broeders-Bol over an exhilarating final leg but the Dutchwoman did enough to hold on and earn her country gold.
The men’s 4x400m quartet earned a medal of the same colour following a similarly thrilling conclusion.
Charlie Dobson (Colchester Harriers AC, Leon Baptiste) came within a whisker of reeling in Italy’s Lorenzo Benati but finished three-hundredths of a second behind as the home quartet clocked 2:59.19.
Individual men’s 400m champion Matthew Hudson-Smith (Birchfield Harriers, Gary Evans) ran the first leg with Toby Harries (Brighton Phoenix, David Sadkin) and Ben Jefferies (Bristol and West AC) completing the team. Hudson-Smith now has nine European medals to his name, more than any other male athlete.
Owen Heard (Harrow AC, Kate Rooney) finished 11th in the men’s pole vault final. He started strongly by clearing 5.55m at the first attempt but dislodged the bar with all three goes at 5.70m.
All three British 3000m men’s steeplechasers lined up in the final after Zak Seddon (Bracknell AC) gained a spot following an injury elsewhere.
Kristian Imroth (Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers, Stephen Murphy) was the best-placed of the three, finishing 12th in 8:33.89. William Battershill (Bristol and West AC, Luke Gunn) was 14th in 8:34.73 with Seddon a place further back in 8:35.83.
The Novuna Great Britain & Northern Ireland Team finish the week in second place on the medal table, with nine golds, eight silvers and two bronze medals.
Gold
Women’s 100m – Amy Hunt (day one)
Men’s 100m – Romell Glave (day two)
Women’s 200m – Amy Hunt (day four)
Men’s 400m – Matthew Hudson-Smith (day three)
Men’s 4x100m relay (day six)
Women’s 4x100m relay (day six)
Marathon – women’s team event (day seven)
Mixed 4x100m relay (day seven)
Women’s 1500m final – Georgia Hunter Bell (day seven)
Silver
Mixed 4x400m – Ben Jefferies, Charlotte Henrich, Toby Harries, Yemi Mary John (day one)
Men’s 100m – Jeremiah Azu (day two)
Women’s 400m hurdles – Emily Newnham (day three)
Women’s 800m – Keely Hodgkinson (day five)
Men’s 200m – Zharnel Hughes (day five)
Women’s long jump – Jazmin Sawyers (day seven)
Women’s 4x400m relay (day seven)
Men’s 4x400m relay (day seven)
Bronze
Women’s 200m – Dina Asher-Smith (day four)
Women’s marathon – Abbie Donnelly (day seven)