Inside Amy Hunt’s celebrations after making European Championship history with KFC, champagne and 2am massage

IT WAS after 11pm on Sunday when Amy Hunt, fresh from winning a record four European gold medals, returned to the Alexander Stadium outfield. Nobody was there, the stands were all empty, a successful European Athletics Championships had finished, but Hunt could not resist one final dash down the home straight. Amy Hunt collected four gold medals at the European Championships, with two in the 100m and 200m sprints Credit: PA Hunt got the other two in the 4x100m relay, one with the women and the inaugural mixed race Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Dressed in white UK Athletics tracksuit, with four bits of bling round her neck, the pace was much slower this time as she played up to the camera, appearing on a blue running track in Birmingham that will forever be her own. And after the Amy Games were done, she posted footage of her surprise appearance on her Instagram account, which “has almost doubled” to 200,000 followers. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! She captioned the post with the words “How it feels to become a 4 x European Champion” – and accompanied the footage with the ABBA track: ‘The Winner Takes It All.’ Indeed, the winner does take it all – and Hunt celebrated her remarkable FOUR-midable feat with fast food (“one of the best-tasting KFCs I’ve had in my life”), a 2am massage and one glass of champagne with her coach. It was 4am by the time she got to sleep, with an unpacked suitcase next to her bed, and she had only had three hours’ kip before speaking to the world’s media. Hunt, a proud member of “Gen Z”, says she is ready for the publicity that is coming her way after she propelled herself into nationwide consciousness. The Newark sprinter – who trains in Padua in Italy – said: “(Fame) is definitely not something I shy away from. I’m not scared of it at all. “It’s a privilege to be famous as a track person. Hopefully we can get to the same levels as someone like Linford Christie. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Hunt celebrated with her coach after her four gold medal triumph Credit: Instagram “One thing about my setup that is important and special to me is that we live in such a bubble in this kind of Renaissance city in northern Italy. “I’m someone who definitely doesn’t shy away from attention and definitely enjoys the sense of performance and putting on a show. “But it’s also quite lucky for me that I have such a secluded setup. Also training partners from all over the world. “For whom the Europeans don’t mean as much as it does to others. “Also for them to go back and take the mick out of my Italian and whatnot. “So it keeps me grounded, keeps me humble. And I have an amazing, gorgeous family. “They definitely keep me humble, keep me grounded.” After winning the 100 metres gold on night one, Hunt was not shy in admitting she wanted four titles in total. And even with that pressure on her shoulders, she delivered on Sunday night, with a peak of 4.2million people watching on BBC TV. There is no rest for the wicked as she has signed up to a Diamond League meeting over 200 metres on Friday night in Lausanne against Jamaican Shericka Jackson, a multiple Olympic medallist. It is one thing to dominate Europe, the next step is to transfer that form to the world. But she will use Birmingham’s bullion run as a trial run for the Beijing World Championships in 2027 and the LA 2028 Olympics. Hunt is unquestionably the new queen of British athletics and is taking it in stride Credit: Reuters Despite her personal success, Hunt has praised her team-mates at every turn Credit: EPA Like a heavyweight boxer, Hunt was confident and brash about her prospects – after gold one she said she wanted three more – but she reckons you need to talk yourself up to be successful. The Cambridge-educated sprinter said: “Just speaking confidently kind of draws people in. “I think people are attracted to that kind of no facade, full confidence, full throttle kind of way of speaking. “It’s something we have in other sports. If you’re going into a Wimbledon final, it’s obviously quite clear that you want to win that match. You want to win every point. “But because there’s a lot more jeopardy involved in what we do, there’s a lot more people on the line running against us, sometimes people are a bit afraid of voicing their ambitions. “Life is short. Why not be ambitious? We’re all thinking these things – so why not just say them out aloud? “Especially in a game like the sprints, you have to be so utterly confident on that start line. “It’s like nothing else on this planet. I’m trying to get from A to B as fast as humanly possible. Amy doing promo work for Puresport Hunt’s affable nature and track success will have the brands lining up for her services “It’s so simple yet it’s so kind of complex. “I have to be so utterly convinced of myself, my own power, my own strength, my own speed and my own methodology to be able to make that all kind of come together as one. “Because it’s such a mental game. And just having that kind of edge of confidence of 1-2 percent. “I won the (mixed relay) race by two hundredths of a second. So some of that might just be down to confidence. “I do think it’s good for the sport. We’ve seen from these Champs that the public really love track-and-field. “When it’s on their TV screens, people really want to see it and they really love it. “We’re fortunate enough to have an incredibly successful team made of so many inspiring role models and iconic people. “Athletics coming back with a bit of swagger is what everyone needs.” Comment now