World Athletics Championships live: GB’s Amy Hunt wins 200m silver, Noah Lyles seals fourth 200m title
Amy Hunt won a sensational silver in the 200m final as Melissa Jefferson-Wooden became only the second woman in 30 years to claim the world sprint double
Great Britain’s Amy Hunt won silver in a thrilling women’s 200m final to announce her arrival on the world stage on day seven of the World Athletics Championships, while 100m champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden became the first American woman to win the sprint double at the same world championships.
Hunt made a relatively slow start and was in danger of being left behind but recovered superbly to storm down the final straight, beating defending champion Shericka Jackson by just four-hundredths of a second for silver.
Jefferson-Wooden was well clear in a world-leading 21.68s, becoming the first woman since Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in 2013 to complete the sprint double. Dina Asher-Smith was fifth, behind American Anavia Battle.
Olympic 800m champion Keely Hodgkinson continued her bid for a maiden world title, winning her semi-final on Wednesday as compatriot and training partner Georgia Hunter Bell also progressed to the final.
Noah Lyles stormed to a fourth straight world 200m gold with a dominant performance in a star-studded men’s final, beating compatriot Kenny Bednarek and talented young Jamaican Bryan Levell with a blistering time of 19.51s. Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo ran 19.65s but could only managed fourth, while Britain’s Zharnel Hughes ran a season’s best of 19. 78 for fifth.
‘Pretty lit’: Amy Hunt shocks the world with stunning 200m silver
Amy Hunt’s Cambridge University supervisors would not have approved but when you win a World Athletic Championship silver medal, you can probably get away with describing it as “pretty lit”.
The new face of British sprinting shocked the world as she reached the second step of the podium in the women’s 200m in her first global final.
She has not yet fact-checked it but having earned a 2:1 in English literature at the world's third oldest university before making this most special of World Championship debuts, she may now find herself in a select group of one.
‘Pretty lit’: Amy Hunt shocks the world with stunning 200m silver
Amy Hunt: 'I am showing you can do anything'
More from Amy Hunt... “I have not stopped smiling or crying!” she grins.
“I just beat some amazing girls and I can't believe it.”
As if being an extremely accomplished runner wasn’t enough, she also has a degree from Cambridge, and she says she wants to show young athletes that they can both have a career on the track without sacrificing their education. “I am showing you can do anything, if you set your mind to you can be the best at anything.”
Asked how she’ll celebrate, she says: “Maybe some karaoke tonight!”
Dina Asher-Smith: 'All I can do is work and get better'
Dina Asher-Smith chats to BBC Sport and is a little frustrated but happy for her teammate. “I am a bit disappointed in my race. I could have done better with executing and I have to go away and work on that.
“Amy [Hunt] did incredibly. Bless her.
“I am really disappointed, all I can do is work and get better. I didn't put the best race together for myself.
“Coming into this, I felt so good and I'm excited to go away, do a little world tour and scope out where I'm going to be basing myself.
“Overall, I am very happy. I wish I could have executed that better but it is what it is.”
Amy Hunt: 'I am so proud of myself'
Amy Hunt has a lovely interview with BBC Sport. She says: “As soon as I saw my mum I just burst into tears. I knew I could do it. I knew I could do it!
“As long as I put in a good turn off the bends and then I was like … expletives – a lot of them! I was like Oh my god, I am about to do this. I was just like keep going, keep going, keep going! Stay strong!
“I am so proud of myself. Moments before the race I just thought about my grandad, I knew he was watching over me. I have a tattoo of him on my arm of his name. I knew he was going to guide me. I am just so proud of myself, my whole team, for putting this together.”
George Mills reacts to qualifying for men's 5000m final
“I think heats are always deceptive. You want to save as much energy as possible and just get through it without too many issues. And I think I managed to do that today. I had to run a little bit wider than I'd want to in places just to get the position, but I was where I wanted to be when it picked up, because once it picks up, it's hard to close the gaps.
“So I wanted to be there and just be ready to qualify on the top eight. (about hanging back early on) It's just my race plan and knowing what cues I want to move with and how I want to set up myself and where I feel the most comfortable, it’s something that works for me.”
Jefferson-Wooden wins sprint double, silver for GB's Hunt
Tears of joy for Amy Hunt as she goes to celebrate with her family, she cannot believe it. Just amazing.
Jefferson-Wooden wins sprint double, silver for GB's Hunt
Amy Hunt screams in delight as she realises she’s won a world silver medal! An enormous, enormous achievement. 22.14 for the Brit.
Shericka Jackson, the defending champion, has been dethroned but hangs on for bronze in 22.18.
Jefferson-Wooden’s winning time was 21.68, miles away from everyone else. Hunt’s final 50m was superb, just a fraction quicker over the line than Jackson.
Women's 200m final
They get away cleanly, great start by Asher-Smith, Hunt has been left behind but Jefferson-Wooden powers away round the bend - Jefferson-Wooden is miles away from everyone!
Hunt storms through for silver!
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