'I want it all': British sprinter Amy Hunt hits high notes in medal charge at European championships

British sprinter Amy Hunt has stormed into the spotlight at the European championships.

The 24-year-old Hunt won the 100-meter final and hopes it's not her only gold at the meet. She’s also competing in the 200 and is in contention to be in two relay teams.

Hunt will line up in the final of the 200 on Thursday night at Alexander Stadium alongside rivals including teammate Dina Asher-Smith.

The ever-affable Hunt likes to quote a “High School Musical” character when she says “I want it all” on the track. But the University of Cambridge alum can get more serious, too, like when she recently discussed the legacy of colonialism associated with the Commonwealth Games.

Here's what to know about her career:

Hunt was the surprise silver medalist in the 200 at the world championships last September in Tokyo, where she ran 22.14 seconds in the final — U.S. sprinter Melissa Jefferson-Wooden was the winner.

At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, Hunt ran the third leg on the British women’s 4x100 relay team that won silver.

In the youth ranks, Hunt set an under-18 women's world best in the 200 when she ran a 22.42 in June 2019 in Mannheim, Germany.

Hunt juggled academics — studying English Literature — while training and overcame a leg injury to reach world-class levels. After her silver medal in Tokyo last year, she told the BBC she's glad she stayed in school: “You can be an academic badass and a track goddess.”

When describing her goals, Hunt cites a “High School Musical” character Sharpay Evans and the song called “I Want it All.”

Hunt mentioned it in the pre-championships news conference and again after winning gold in the 100 on Monday night.

“That performance is one step closer to being like Sharpay Evans,” she said after the victory. “I really want to win it all and I’m so happy now I’ve got one out of four done. Hopefully I can take this momentum and the good vibes into the rest of the week.”

Hunt gives fans a behind-the-scenes view of her life as an athlete with video updates on her YouTube page. Her “vlog” touches on everything from meals to sightseeing to anti-doping tests.

The sprinter's most recent video was a review of her time at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where she won a silver medal in the 100.

Hunt takes a few minutes in the video to discuss the history of the games, saying she doesn't “ethically or morally agree with the kind of notion of a Commonwealth Games.” The games, she added, “used to celebrate a colonial empire.”

“I think the Commonwealth Games provides the opportunity for us to reflect on ourselves and our history with colonialism, also the fact that England as we know it was rebuilt post-war by the Windrush generation, by immigrants,” Hunt said.

Athletes discuss this privately, she said, but that's where it stays.

“I think a lot of people are afraid to speak about it openly. I think as a white athlete, it’s important for me to speak about my thoughts on it. ... I just kind of wish there was more dialogue and more conversation about that.”

She concludes: “You’re more than free to disagree with it and you’re more than free to think that if I have these views it’s hypocritical for me to compete.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Britain's Amy Hunt reacts after crossing the finish line to win the women's 100 meters final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)

Britain's Amy Hunt, centre, competes in her women's 200 meters semifinal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)

Britain's Amy Hunt celebrates winning the women's 100 meters final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)

Britain's Amy Hunt reacts after her women's 200 meters semifinal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday visited the Kuril Islands, a Russian-controlled Pacific island chain also claimed by Japan, for the first time, drawing protests from Tokyo.

Putin visited a fish plant, a hospital and a school on Iturup, one of the chain's southernmost islands. He also briefly spoke to local residents and met with the governor of Russia's Sakhalin region, Valery Limarenko.

Japan asserts territorial rights to the four southernmost islands of the chain, which it calls the Northern Territories. The Soviet Union took them from Japan in the final days of World War II, and the dispute kept the countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

Decades of diplomatic efforts to negotiate a settlement haven’t produced any visible results. Moscow over the years has also beefed up its military presence on the Kuril Islands in moves that appeared to underscore its firm stance in the dispute.

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said his country “strongly protests” against Putin's visit to Iturup, which Japan calls Etorofu. “The Northern Territories, including Etorofu (Iturup) Island, are Japan’s inherent territory both historically and from the perspective of international law,” Motegi said in a statement.

Japan also protested in 2021 when Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin visited Iturup.

Putin in recent days has visited several regions in Russia's Siberia and the Far East. Before coming to Iturup, the Russian president stopped on Sakhalin Island to attend the final part of the drills by Russia's Pacific Fleet.

Speaking aboard a warship that was taking part in the naval exercises, Putin said Wednesday that the current status of the Kuril Islands “is enshrined in international documents as a reality that arose following the outcome of the World War II.” “But even here, Russia was prepared to seek a solution with the goal of concluding a peace treaty with Japan,” he said.

The Russian leader said that in the past, Moscow “had developed constructive relations with a number of Japanese leaders, including the tragically deceased former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who did much to bring Japan and Russia closer together, to align our positions.”

Putin said the position of Japan, which imposed sanctions on Russia after its sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, has since changed.

Still, Russia is ready “to cooperate with all its neighbors, including Japan and other states in the region,” the Russian president said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, interacts with schoolchildren as he visits a secondary school named after Eduard Norpolov in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's far-east, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, visits a secondary school named after Eduard Norpolov in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's far-east, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, visits the central district hospital at Kitovoye village on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Sakhalin Region Governor Valery Limarenko in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, visits the Secondary School named after the Hero of Russia Eduard Norpolov in Kurilsk on the Iturup Island, the largest of the Kuril Islands of Russia's fareast, on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)