Amber Anning claimed a historic gold medal in the 400m at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in China, securing her first senior individual international title. The British record holder, who had previously won two relay bronzes at the Paris Olympics, crossed the finish line in 50.60 seconds, narrowly defeating Alexis Holmes of the United States by three-hundredths of a second. Norway’s Henriette Jaeger took bronze.
For Anning, the victory marked redemption after being disqualified for a lane infringement at the European Indoor Championships earlier in the month. Reflecting on her achievement, she expressed her joy at becoming the first British woman to win an individual world indoor sprint title. “I came here wanting the win after the disappointment of the Europeans. I wanted the gold, and I’m grateful I was able to get the job done and bring a medal back to the home city,” she said.
She acknowledged the competitiveness of the race, emphasizing the challenge of breaking ahead in such a strong field. “I knew with the calibre of girls in this race it was going to be close, especially to get that break. But I stayed strong, I had faith in myself, and I got to the end and I fought for that line.”
Elsewhere in the competition, Amy Hunt impressed with a fifth-place finish in the women’s 60m final. After earning a spot in her first senior world final, she improved her time from the semifinals by clocking 7.11 seconds. “I can’t believe I’m fifth in the world in an event that nobody thinks I can do apart from me and my coach!” she said. “That was one of the most fun races I have ever done in my life. I was smiling at the start line, I was stood next to the world champion, and I nearly had them. A few inches off, a couple more metres and I would have got them.”
Molly Caudery, who entered the competition as the defending women’s pole vault champion, faced disappointment as she finished fourth. The event was affected by technical issues, with delays disrupting the flow of the competition. Caudery, who has struggled with injuries this season, was frustrated with the disruptions but refused to use them as an excuse. “It was definitely not what I wanted. It was a really tough competition with a lot of technical issues, but I don’t want to put out any excuses,” she stated. “If there is an hour wait in the middle of the competition when it’s getting to those medal bars—the really important bars—it shouldn’t be happening at a competition like this.”
The final day of competition will see more British athletes vying for medals. Funminiyi Olajide is set to compete in the women’s long jump, while Scott Lincoln takes part in the shot put. In the 1500m, Neil Gourley will represent Scotland in the men’s final, while Olympic bronze medalist Georgia Hunter Bell will compete in the women’s event.
Among the standout performances from other competitors, Sweden’s Armand Duplantis secured his third consecutive pole vault world indoor title with a leap of 6.15m. The American Grant Holloway dominated the 60m hurdles final, and Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji took gold in the women’s 60m sprint in 7.04 seconds, edging out Italy’s Zaynab Dosso, who had to settle for silver in 7.06 seconds. Patrizia van der Weken of Luxembourg claimed bronze.
Duplantis, already a two-time Olympic champion, reaffirmed his status as one of the greatest pole vaulters by completing his 100th career jump over six meters. Despite a rare miss at 6.10m, he cleared 6.05m with ease, joining Sergey Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie as a three-time world indoor champion.
