Amy Hunt has set her sights on becoming an “icon” in athletics following her unexpected silver medal at the World Championships last year.
The 23-year-old sprinter, who is preparing for the World Indoor Championships in Poland, inadvertently went viral after the World Championships last September. When asked by the BBC about her journey from an English degree at Cambridge, she said, “You can be an academic badass and a track goddess.”
Hunt revealed that her remark was spontaneous. She said she wondered if the BBC would “bleep that out?”
From Cambridge to the Track
Hunt’s message resonated, leading to advice requests from sporty 16- and 17-year-olds about getting into Oxbridge.
Hunt has assisted girls in gaining admission to Cambridge. She aims to establish a track and field equivalent to Stormzy’s Merky scholarships, which provide financial support for black students at Cambridge.
Sacrifices on the Road to Success
Hunt is focused on becoming an “icon” on the track over the next decade.
After winning her silver medal, numerous opportunities arose, but she declined most of them to focus on her training, only accepting a trip to McLaren’s F1 headquarters and seeing her NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings, play in London.
Hunt dislikes the term “sacrifice.” She said it is her job and what she loves to do.
She added that turning down opportunities like fashion weeks and the Oscars doesn’t make her sad because the Olympics and World Championships don’t come around every year.
Overcoming Past Challenges
Hunt smashed the world under-18 200m record at 17 and was hailed by Vogue as “one of the faces to define the decade”. However, a severe quadriceps rupture while at university led some to believe her career was over. A 4x100m relay silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and silver in Tokyo proved them wrong.
She said she had somewhat of a breakthrough when she was 17.
Hunt is preparing for the World Indoor Championships in Poland that start on Friday.