Amy Hunt
Amy was invited to participate, at the last minute, in the Great North City Games in Newcastle. The format was the first 4 under 20 women finishers over 100m and the first 4 over 200m from the English Schools Championships in July to race each other over 150m. Amy is currently in the under 17 age category so she would be racing much older women. Amy travelled up Friday morning. Prior to heading to the track the athletes were invited onto a tall ship which was moored near to the event, where they had a photo shoot with renowned international athletes; Kim Collins, Andy Butchart and Lynsey Sharp. This was very inspiring for Amy and the other athletes. The format was for two heats to be run on the Friday with the winners of each heat and the next fastest two athletes to contend the "A" final, with the remaining
finishers contending a "B" final. A trophy was to be presented to the winner of the "A" race.
There was a strong following wind and Amy got a good start pulling away from her main competitor, who won the senior girls 200m at English Schools. She stayed relaxed and even had time to slow to a jog, qualifying for the "A" final in 17.3, the fastest time for the girls.
That night at the hotel Amy had the opportunity to have dinner with the elite athletes before getting a good night's rest for the final the next day.
The atmosphere was electric on Saturday with 2,000 -3,000 spectators all cheering and clapping. Amy had a great start and was a fraction ahead of the athlete on her right. She then started to pull away at about 70m and continued her strong form to win the final in 17.31. As soon as she finished she was followed by one of the camera crew and was approached by Gabby Logan and BBC Sport for an interview. She also talked with Richard Kilty who was very kind and encouraging. After the boys "A" Final had finished Amy and the boys champion were presented their trophies by Richard Kilty and had a joint interview with the trackside commentator.
The race and interview were televised and shown on the BBC on Saturday with Steve Cram providing the commentary on Amy's race Overall it was a fantastic experience and one that Amy will remember for a long time.
Amy said; "It was an amazing experience and one I loved every second of. I am so grateful for the opportunity and ecstatic to be English Schools u19 women's 150m champion. It was a brilliant way to end my 2017 season amongst
so many incredible and inspiring athletes and unbelievable that I made it onto television".
