Amazing Amy
The full story of an amazing European Under 20 Championships held in Boras, Sweden for out very own sprint Queen, thanks to mum Claire for a great report.
Amy was originally selected for this competition for the 100m, but after her fantastic run at Mannheim asked to switch to the 200m. The way the competition timetable was there wasn't really any chance of Amy doing both
100m and 200m and she was already selected to run with the 4 x 100m relay team also, so 8 races in 4 days at this level would have proven too much.
The heats for the 200m were held early evening on Friday 19th, the second day of competition; Amy is ranked number 1 in Europe for both the 100m and 200m. The seeding draw gave Amy a reasonable heat in terms of competitors but the lane draw is pulled out of the hat and Amy found herself out in lane 8.
After a strong start Amy pulled away from the other girls and eased near the line to win in 23.23s. Amy said "it was good to get the first race out of the way especially after having to wait until late on the second day to get
my completion underway but also having to put a dominant performance in from lane 8".
The semi and final were both on the Saturday.
Amy was in lane 4 for the semi-final and potentially the strongest race, but seemed very relaxed and focused. Again, similar to the heat, Amy got a great start and pulled away from the other girls powering down the home straight and easing off early, going through the line in 23.14s which was the second fastest time in Europe for under 20 women this year behind Amy's Mannheim time.
For the final Amy was drawn to run in lane 6.
Amy got off to a strong start in the final but was chased hard by the other runners and coming off the bend was slightly ahead. Amy then used her strength and speed to start pulling away from the other competitors and when
going through the line could be seen to have a smile on her face. The time was 22.94s into a strong headwind, but nonetheless, Amy got consistently faster over each race.
Although Amy was the hot favourite to win this competition due to her quick time in Mannheim, there was no complacency and there were a number of favourites that didn't live up to the billing so it was good to see Amy soak up the pressure and expectation and execute her race plan.
It was fantastic to see Amy on top of the podium with her medal and the national anthem playing and the Union jack being raised also!
Amy also was part of successful 4 x 100m relay squad, running the second leg in both the heat and final, which saw the team win gold against some very slick German and Dutch teams, but in the end the sheer speed of the GB team was the telling factor with Amy playing a huge part with her fast speed.
Amy said:
'It was an incredible experience to become double European Junior champion. Hearing my name being shouted and having friends and family watching was extremely special. I'm absolutely ecstatic with my performances and loved being a part of the British team'.