Amy Hunt leads BBC Sports Personality race after four-gold haul

Amy Hunt has moved to the front of the race for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award after winning four gold medals at the European Championships in Birmingham. The 24-year-old sprinter completed the unprecedented haul by taking the 100 metres, 200 metres, women’s 4x100m relay and mixed 4x100m relay.

Hunt is the first athlete in the history of the European Championships to win four golds at one edition. Her achievement has sharply changed the shape of the award contest, with her sprint double followed by two relay victories during the championships.

Josh Kerr is the closest challenger after breaking the world mile record last month. Darts player Luke Littler, footballer Harry Kane and skeleton racer Matt Weston are also among the leading names in the field.

Hunt’s performance has given athletics a strong candidate for the award, which will be decided in December. Her four victories in Birmingham provide the defining achievement behind her rise to the top of the current contest.

Kerr’s world record remains a major achievement, while Littler, Kane and Weston are still in contention. However, Hunt’s combination of individual titles and relay success has placed her ahead of the other names following the European Championships.

The award picture changed during the Birmingham meeting as Hunt added to her early sprint success. By the end of the championships, she had secured a clean sweep of four titles and established herself as the leading candidate for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.