Amber Anning became Great Britain’s first ever female 400m world champion as she stormed to the title in Nanjing, China. After a dominant run in the semi final, the 24-year-old edged out American Alexis Holmes on the line in a frantic final.
The Brighton and Hove harrier timed her effort impeccably, edging out her closest rival by three hundredths of a second. Norway’s Henriette Jæger came through for a well earned bronze medal.
Redemption with the World Watching
Life certainly comes at you fast in the world of track and field, and no one knows that more than Amber Anning this month. After suffering a bitter disappointment at the European Indoor Championships earlier this month, the London born-athlete bounced back in the best possible way on the global stage.
After underlining her tag as favourite in Apeldoorn with a dominant run, she was hit with the cruel blow of disqualification. On a steep banked track, Anning took too many steps in the lane inside of her for the judges liking, and the fastest qualifier was eliminated.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and all is forgotten. There was a steely focus about Anning in Nanjing, a confidence that she was going to leave nothing to chance.
It was far from straightforward, and she needed to draw upon every inch of her experiences to get her hands on the gold medal.
In the tussle for position as the bell sounded to signal the final lap, Anning took a barge all the way out into lane three. While it may not have been the plan, she didn’t panic and bided her time to strike back.
Anning Succeeds Where Many Have Failed
In an event which has seen Great Britain produce many greats, Anning has entered territory that compatriots before her have never been.
This is her first season as a fully professional athlete after graduating from Arkansas University. Despite taking a mid race baulk, she recorded a time of 50.60 seconds, timed to perfection having out leaned her rivals.
From the moment she took to the track for her semi final, she was a picture of concentration. Even after her victory was confirmed, there was no immediate reaction as the volume of her achievement began to sink in.
It was only when her teammate Jeremiah Azu, who won his world title the previous day handed her the Union Jack flag, where the realisation dawned on her.
Last year Anning burst onto the scene by smashing the British record at the Olympic Games to narrowly finish fourth. Although she was a double bronze medallist in the 4x400m relay events in Paris.
Her time of 49.23 seconds was a national record and saw her surpass GB greats such as Kathy Smallwood and Christine Ohuruogu.
Talking to BBC Sport, Anning reflected on her own powers of recovery and banishing the ghost of Apeldoorn’s disqualification.
“It feels amazing, it wasn’t the cleanest race but the goal was to win and get my first individual title.”
“I thought I just got there but I just needed to make sure I didn’t see a disqualification. It was just a sigh of relief.”
The next big target for Great Britain’s new 400m specialist, is the outdoor World Championships in Tokyo later in the year.