Hunt’s stunning run for world silver came six years after she alerted the world to her potential as a record-breaking junior.
But, between those headline moments, injuries disrupted the start of her senior career, including a ruptured quadriceps in 2022 – while attempting to manage an often frictional relationship between her sporting ambition and studies.
Hunt would not improve on the 22.42-second run – which smashed the under-18 200m world record in 2019 – until last summer, before going faster still by running 22.08 in Japan at the end of a season where she also recorded 60m and 100m personal bests.
Continuing her development under coach Marco Airale in the northern Italian city of Padova, Hunt’s immediate target is improving on her fifth-place finish at last year’s world indoors.
The 60m is her least-favourite event – her 5ft 10in (1.78m) frame makes getting out of the blocks quickly challenging – but a necessary focus to benefit her performances over the longer distances.
Longer term, she hopes to become a contender over 400m as part of a bid to win as many as four Olympic medals in 2028, an achievement which, she says, would see her become “an icon”.
But, away from the track, Hunt is also keen to ensure she plays her part in encouraging more athletes to pursue a degree by setting up a scholarship, similar to the initiative by British rapper Stormzy to support black students studying at Cambridge.
“I didn’t want to take the easy way. That’s not me and that doesn’t inform anything I do. I have to always try and be the best every single day,” says Hunt.
“Talking about it opens it up a lot more and enables more women and girls from an athletic background to be able to get there.
“It’s about having a conversation and helping them be more confident.”
