Athletics

Italian job for Azu and Hunt as they win UK 60m titles

February 18, 2024

Marco Airale-coached athletes take blue ribbon sprint crowns in Birmingham on Saturday

The winners of the 60m titles at the Microplus UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham were born in Britain but their victories were forged in Italy in recent months under the guidance of coach Marco Airale.

Amy Hunt and Jeremiah Azu are part of an Italian-based squad which is full of Brits and they are clearly thriving in the Anglo-Italian system. Hunt won the women’s national title in 7.26 ahead of Bianca Williams and Mabel Akande whereas Azu claimed the men’s gold in style with 6.60 from Andy Robertson and Ojie Edoburun.

“That was the goal and to give our coach two medals, so I think he’s happy,” said Azu. “I joined the group in October 2022 and I’m enjoying it and finding my flow now. It was a bit of a struggle last year being away from home but I find I’ve found my feet now.”

Has Azu been inspired to learn the Italian language, though? “Er, that’s a step too far really!” he smiled. “I live with Adan Gemili and we just speak English to each other the whole time.”

Jeremiah Azu (Getty)

Hunt was a little critical of her own race but was pleased to win. “I think an ‘Italian job’ would have been a little smoother and quicker,” she said. “But that was a little rusty. But I’m happy to come away with the win, especially after a questionable start. I don’t want to be negative but my start was pretty ‘trash’. I just had to trust myself and to know I had the legs and speeds to come through in the last 30 metres.”

Hunt was a teenage prodigy who has been navigating the notoriously tricky transition into senior athletics. During 2019-20, for example, she won 200m gold at the European Under-20 Championships as well as breaking the world under-18 record for the distance.

She explained her move to Italy, saying: “I graduated from Cambridge (University) and the next day I woke at 2am and went to Padova and was met at the train station and went to a railway station at 11am. It was very poetic as one chapter of my life closed and another opened.”