Amy Hunt produced her definitive coming-of-age moment on the international stage, storming to 100m glory in Birmingham to claim her first individual senior title and secure Britain’s opening gold medal of the European Athletics Championships.
he victory follows a string of near-misses for the British sprinter. Hunt made her major individual breakthrough last year by claiming 200m silver at the World Championships in Tokyo, before backing it up with a 100m silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow just two weeks ago.
“I have had such a string of silvers and I was starting to get a bit fed up with it, so I thought it was time for gold,” Hunt told reporters following her win.
Her motivation was reinforced by a personal gesture from her family:
“My parents gifted me these gold earrings to finally level up, because I wear all-silver jewellery. They said it was time for gold—they left me that note two nights ago—so it made me quite emotional. It was definitely time for me to come of age here.“
Hunt first captured international attention in 2019 when she set a women’s under-18 world record over 200m (22.42 seconds), shattering Dina Asher-Smith’s British under-20 record in the process. However, bridging the gap to senior success proved to be a multi-year test of resilience.For several years, Hunt balanced elite athletic training with studying for an English Literature degree at Cambridge University. Physical setbacks also took a toll, including a ruptured quad muscle in 2022.
It took six years to improve upon her teenage personal bests, but the turning point came after her graduation in 2023, when she relocated to Padua in northern Italy to train full-time under renowned coach Marco Airale.
With her 100m crown secured and additional events on her schedule—including the 200m and sprint relays—Hunt’s golden performance signals a clear changing of the guard at the top of British sprinting.
The United States produced a record-breaking performance in the men’s 4×100m relay at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 in Eugene, winning the gold medal while setting a new World U20 record.
The American quartet of Blake Hamilton, Dillon Mitchell, Kyler Brown and Tate Taylor clocked an outstanding 38.16s to take the title and rewrite the championship record books.
Their performance broke the previous World U20 record of 38.16s, establishing a new benchmark for the men’s 4×100m relay at the junior level.
The American team delivered a strong performance in the final, combining speed and efficient baton exchanges to secure the gold medal on home soil. The victory added another major highlight to the USA’s campaign at the global junior championships.
USA Men’s 4×100m Relay
🇺🇸 Blake Hamilton
🇺🇸 Dillon Mitchell
🇺🇸 Kyler Brown
🇺🇸 Tate Taylor
⏱️ Time: 38.16s
🥇 Gold Medal
🌍 New World U20 Record
The record-breaking performance underlined the depth of American sprinting at the junior level and provided one of the standout moments of the championships in Eugene.
For Hamilton, Mitchell, Brown and Taylor, the gold medal is now accompanied by a place in the record books, with their 38.16s becoming the new World U20 benchmark in the men’s 4×100m relay.
The World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 in Eugene has come to a close, and Asia’s campaign on the track and field was marked by notable field-event breakthroughs, sharp track final appearances, and continuous progression from the continent’s rising talents.
Leading the charge for Asia was the People’s Republic of China, which finished 8th in the global medal standings and stood as the only nation from the continent to capture gold. Powered by their traditional strengths in technical field disciplines and race walking, China collected two golds, one silver, and two bronzes, demonstrating once again the depth of their elite junior development pipelines.
Directly behind China, India and Japan shared the spotlight, finishing tied at 27th globally with three medals each. India’s campaign was defined by history-making consistency in jumping and throwing events. Ashish Yadav produced a clutch throwing sequence to claim silver in the men’s javelin throw (74.09m), while Basant Kumar Meghwal matched his personal best (2.21m) to earn silver in the men’s high jump. Shahnavaz Khan added a bronze in the men’s long jump (7.84m), and Mohammed Ashfaq made a rare track final appearance for India in the men’s 400m, placing 8th after resetting the national U20 record in the preliminary rounds.
Japan matched India’s total medal count with two silvers and a bronze, but built its campaign on track success placing athletes into the finals across middle-distance races, sprint hurdles, and relay events.
Rounding out the podium-earning Asian teams were South Korea and Chinese Taipei. South Korea captured a silver medal through a strong showing in the throwing events, while Chinese Taipei earned a hard-fought bronze medal in the sprint hurdles.
Beyond the medal table, several other Asian nations demonstrated top-tier potential by advancing athletes into eight-person track finals and twelve-person field finals. Athletes from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan held their ground in the technical jumps and hammer throw finals, while Qatar and Bahrain made their mark in the 800m and 1500m track finals. Sprint relays also saw strong regional representation, with Thailand and Sri Lanka qualifying teams into the late-stage relay and long jump finals.
Javelin crowns have a habit of drifting toward Asia and, increasingly, Africa – and that held true even in the U20 category this week, as 18-year-old Aseel Osama Abdel Hamid delivered a defining performance for Egyptian athletics, winning the women’s javelin gold medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026 in Eugene, Oregon.
The last time an African stood on a global javelin podium was at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, where Kenya’s Julius Yego and Egypt’s Ihab Abdelrahman finished gold and silver; a 1-2 for the continent. Both men trained under Finnish coach Petteri Piironen at the IAAF-accredited centre in Kuortane, Finland.
Aseel showed similar composure in Eugene, unleashing a winning throw of 59.82m to top the podium and cap off a sensational season.
Born in April 2008, she had already staked her claim as Africa’s top junior thrower before she ever set foot in the United States. In May 2026, she won the senior title at the African Athletics Championships in Accra with a second-round mark of 60.97m, a new African U20 record and personal best. Her jump from continental champion to world U20 gold medallist says as much about her big-meet composure as it does her technical growth.
For those catching up: Egypt already has a javelin legacy on the world stage. Before Aseel’s win, the country’s only medal at any World Athletics Championships belonged to Ihab Abdelrahman, who took a historic silver in the men’s javelin at the 2015 Beijing World Championships with a throw of 88.99m.
Aseel’s gold marks Egypt’s first-ever title at a World Athletics U20 Championships and the nation’s first global track and field crown in a women’s event, a milestone in its own right. It also points to a bright future for the country’s field events program on the global stage.
Tate Taylor has completed a historic sprint double at the World U20 Championships in Eugene, becoming the first American man to win both the 100m and 200m titles at the championships.
After powering to 100m gold, Taylor returned to the track for the 200m final and delivered another emphatic performance, clocking 19.83 seconds to win gold and set a new Championship Record.
The American broke away from the field in the closing stages and crossed the line comfortably clear, capping a remarkable championship with two individual sprint titles.
Taylor’s 19.83 was the standout performance of the 200m final and underlined his remarkable range as a sprinter. The 200m requires not only explosive speed but also the ability to maintain that pace through the final 100 metres — something Taylor demonstrated in emphatic fashion.
His victory also produced an American one-two. Blake Hamilton took silver in 20.31 seconds, while Barbados’ Jayden Green secured bronze in 20.55.
Taylor’s double is particularly significant in the history of the World U20 Championships. No American man had previously managed to win both the 100m and 200m at the same edition.
With two gold medals and a Championship Record in Eugene, Taylor leaves the World U20 Championships having made one of the biggest statements of the competition — and established himself as a sprinter to watch as he moves towards the senior ranks
Imagine crossing the finish line after beating your biggest rival — only to turn around and hug her.
Now imagine that rival is your twin sister.
That was the beautiful moment in Eugene as Mia and Mariah Maxwell once again found themselves standing together on the podium.
The sisters went one-two in the women’s 200m, with Mia taking gold in 22.49 seconds and Mariah claiming silver in 22.86.
But the numbers only tell half the story.
The real story came moments later.
Mia turned towards Mariah and wrapped her arms around her sister.
Because for all the competition, all the pressure and all the chasing each other down the straight, this was still a shared dream.
And remarkably, it wasn’t the first time they had done it at these championships.
The Maxwell sisters had already gone one-two in the 100m, with Mia taking gold in 11.08 seconds and Mariah silver in 11.33.
Then they did it again over 200m.
Two races. Two one-two finishes. Four medals between them.
Mia’s 22.49 was a personal best, adding another milestone to a championship that has firmly put both sisters in the spotlight.
Yet perhaps the most memorable image wasn’t Mia crossing the line first.
It was what happened after.
The two athletes who spend their lives pushing each other to run faster were suddenly no longer rivals.
Just sisters.
The kind who know exactly how hard the other has worked. The kind who understand the sacrifices behind the stopwatch. The kind who can compete fiercely in one moment and celebrate each other completely in the next.
On the track, they chase each other.
Off it, they lift each other.
And in Eugene, the Maxwell sisters reminded everyone that sometimes the most beautiful victory isn’t winning alone.
It’s having someone beside you who understands exactly what it took to get there.
India’s Anshu narrowly missed out on a place in the women’s shot put final at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026, with her campaign ending in the qualification round.
Competing against a strong field of the world’s leading junior throwers, Anshu finished ninth in her qualification group and 14th overall, falling just short of the positions required to advance to the medal round.
The qualification format allowed athletes to progress either by achieving the automatic qualifying mark or by finishing among the top 12 performers across both qualification groups. In total, four athletes managed to surpass the automatic qualification standard, while the remaining finalists advanced based on their overall rankings.
Despite a determined effort, Anshu’s performance was not enough to secure one of the available places in the final, bringing India’s campaign in the women’s shot put to a close.
The qualification competition was topped by Nigeria’s Jessica Oji, who produced a personal best of 17.56m to finish first overall. Her outstanding performance also established a new Nigerian U20 Record (NU20R), making her the leading qualifier heading into the final.
Although Anshu was unable to progress, competing at the World Athletics U20 Championships provided the young Indian thrower with valuable experience against elite international opposition. The event featured many of the world’s best junior shot put athletes, offering an important opportunity to compete at the highest level in her age category.
While the result was disappointing, participation at a global championship is a significant milestone in an athlete’s development. The experience gained from competing on the world stage will serve as a valuable foundation for Anshu as she continues her progression in the sport.
With the women’s shot put campaign ending in the qualification round, India’s focus now shifts to its remaining athletes who continue to compete across track and field events, as the national contingent looks to add more finalists and strong performances at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2026.
