As the fireworks went off in the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Amy Hunt allowed herself to take a moment to reflect on a season of consistency in chaos.
The 24-year-old sprinter closed out a landmark 2026 with fourth place over 200m in the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, bringing down the curtain on a year during which she won four European titles in Birmingham last month.
Her time of 22.10 was the fastest she has managed over her favourite distance all season, and the Newark-on-Trent runner admits she is ready for a break after a gruelling year.
She said: “I think I really acquitted myself pretty well. You know, top four in the world. And it took kind of a world champion, an Olympic champion and a very consistent sub-22 athlete.
“I’m very proud of that, to come in and be so close to my PB after I probably did more races than the rest of the girls combined, so I’m really proud of the strength I’ve shown and being so consistently strong after a very long season.
“I can't quite believe it's done. I think I've been in such a kind of robotic state for the last few months, especially after Europeans, when I had to turn it around five days later and run a Diamond League, which I think retrospectively was a really brilliant idea.
“I think people probably weren't happy for me at the time, but I think it was a really good way to kind of deal with the emotions of Europeans for two days and then have to really quickly move on to the next thing.
“I think when I stood there on the media platform and watched the fireworks go off, I just had a moment to myself and I was just thinking, wow, this year has been all about kind of finding how to paint a beautiful picture out of all the chaos.
“And I got to see my mum. We had a little cry.
“It’s just been a big year in terms of knowing that no matter what anyone could throw at me now, I've done what, 40-plus races this year, like 60 flights, a stupid, stupid amount of time sprinting. So, you know, there's not going to be a single year that's harder than this one for me ever.”
Hunt competed over both the 100m and 200m in Budapest, finishing eighth in the shorter distance on Saturday before Sunday’s fourth place.
Both races were won by American world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who became the third fastest woman in history over 200m with her time of 21.47.
Hunt will now enjoy a couple of months off before turning her attentions to 2027 and trying to build on the world silver medal over 200m last year.
She added: “Off-season definitely looks like some sleep. I'm not really an early-morning person, so I'm looking forward to not setting an alarm. I'm looking forward to kind of being on the beach, spending some time with my family.
“As an athlete based abroad (in Italy), I don't get to see my family super often. I definitely don't get to see my dog very often, so I'm excited to see him. And, you know, I just try to pack it with lots of fun stuff.
“Everyone knows I really enjoy kind of going to art galleries, going to museums, going to the cinema.
“My coach has given us eight weeks off, which is very generous, and that I can fill those eight weeks with as much kind of beauty and interesting things as possible.”
Novuna is the Official Finance Partner of British Athletics and proud sponsor of the GB & NI Athletics Team. Find out more at www.novuna.co.uk
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