Amber Anning has etched her name into the history books by becoming Great Britain’s first women’s 400m champion at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. The 24-year-old sprinter claimed her maiden international title in dramatic fashion, clocking 50.60 seconds to edge out American Alexis Holmes by just three hundredths of a second in a thrilling final.
Anning’s victory marks a remarkable comeback after a devastating disqualification for a lane infringement at the European Indoor Championships just two weeks ago. The British athlete held her nerve in Nanjing, overcoming a mid-race shove from Holmes and timing her final surge to perfection to secure the gold medal.
“It feels amazing,” Anning told BBC Sport after the race. “It wasn’t the cleanest race, but the goal was to win and get my first individual title. I wasn’t sure [I’d won]. I thought I just got there, but I needed to make sure I didn’t see a disqualification. It was just a sigh of relief.”
The race reached a nail-biting climax as Holmes, the defending champion, attempted to hold off Anning on the final lap but stumbled across the line. Anning’s composure under pressure ensured she crossed the line first, with Norway’s Henriette Jaeger taking bronze in 50.92 seconds.
Anning’s triumph is the second gold medal for Great Britain at the championships, following Jeremiah Azu’s victory in the men’s 60m on Friday. Teammate Amy Hunt finished fifth in the women’s 60m final, won by Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji in 7.04 seconds.
The victory is a significant milestone for Anning, who is in her first full season as a professional athlete after graduating from the University of Arkansas last year. Her breakthrough 2024 season has already seen her smash the British 400m record with a time of 49.29 seconds and finish fifth in her Olympic debut in Paris. She also left the French capital with two relay medals, solidifying her status as one of Britain’s most promising track stars.
Anning’s journey to gold in Nanjing was far from straightforward. After her disqualification at the European Indoors, she bounced back to help the British women’s 4x400m relay team secure silver in Apeldoorn. Her resilience and determination were on full display in Nanjing, where she celebrated her victory with a British flag bearing her name, a gift from her mother.
“My mum got me the flag for the Europeans when we got the medal in the relay,” Anning said. “But I knew it would be a little bit special to bring a part of her and my family here and bring home the gold today.”
Anning’s historic win caps a successful championships for British athletics and sets the stage for what promises to be an exciting career. With her sights now firmly set on major honors, the London-born sprinter has proven she is a force to be reckoned with on the global stage.
Elsewhere at the championships, Sweden’s Armand Duplantis secured his third consecutive world indoor title in the men’s pole vault, while Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen claimed his first world indoor gold in the men’s 3,000m.
Amber Anning Makes History with 400m Gold at World Indoor Championships
