Britain's Golden Night: Birmingham's Historic Athletics Sweep

Birmingham's Golden Blitz: A Night to Remember

The crowd at Alexander Stadium fell silent for a heartbeat. Then exploded.

Amy Hunt crossed the line in 11.00 seconds—fifth to first in the space of 70 meters—and collapsed into the arms of her competitors. Her parents had gifted her gold earrings two nights ago, with a simple note: It was time for gold. They were right.

"I have had such a string of silvers and I was starting to get a bit fed up with it," Hunt told BBC Sport, tears in her eyes. "It was definitely time for me to come of age here and win the gold."

The 24-year-old's victory on Monday night wasn't just Great Britain's first gold of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham—it was the opening salvo of a historic evening for British athletics.

A Golden Sweep, A Promise Kept

Just minutes later, Romell Glave and Jeremiah Azu made good on a promise they'd made to each other months earlier. The two had discussed going one-two in the men's 100 meters, but keeping it between them until the moment mattered most.

Glave took gold. Azu took silver. The British flag flew twice.

"A medal sweep was a goal we had discussed amongst our teams earlier in the year," Azu said afterward, according to BBC Sport.

The Homecoming King

If Hunt's win was a breakthrough, Matthew Hudson-Smith's was a coronation.

Storming down the home straight to rapturous cheers inside the very stadium where he trained as a junior—where there's now a stand bearing his name—the 31-year-old crossed the line in 44.17 seconds to claim his third consecutive European 400m title.

The win made him joint-most decorated man in European Championships history, matching French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre's record of eight medals.

After crossing the line, Hudson-Smith walked up into the north stand and placed a hand on the banner displaying his name—more than two decades after joining Birchfield Harriers at age nine.

"Honestly, words can't describe how much that meant to me," he said. "Nobody was going to beat me on this track. This is my home."

He added with a grin: "I'm going to go for Mayor of Birmingham and Wolverhampton!"

More Medals in the Making

The night wasn't done. Emily Newnham ran a personal best to claim silver in the women's 400m hurdles, recently earning the same color at the Commonwealth Games. The mixed 4x400m relay team added another silver, while Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen claimed the first of two golds in the men's 5,000m.

Dutch hurdler Nadine Visser provided the drama of the evening, pipping Poland's Pia Skrzyszowska to gold by one thousandth of a second.

Great Britain heads into day two as the standout nation—but Hunt is already looking ahead. She has up to three more chances to add to her gold in the 200m and relay events.

And if Monday night proved anything, it's that the British surge is just getting started.