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On a filthy summer’s night in Glasgow, Amy Hunt defied almost everything the elements dared to throw at her. The track was so wet that her fingernails were submerged underwater as she lined up. Her start was so horrendous it could have carried an X-certificate. And she spent most of the women’s 100m final sloshing through puddles. It was nearly enough.
But while she hit top speed late in the race, it was too late to catch the New Zealander Zoe Hobbs, who ran the race of her life to take Commonwealth Games gold in a personal best of 10.93sec.
For Hunt there was at least a silver lining in coming second in 10.98, with Australia’s Torrie Lewis claiming bronze, after so much went wrong.
“I had a really, really terrible first 60m,” Hunt explained. “I am a legitimate starter. But today I got it really badly wrong. I was able to dig myself out of the horrendous ditch that I dug in the first half of the race, but I think gold was definitely there for the taking.”
Hunt made no excuses about the cold and the rain, but said: “It was pretty gross on the start line. My fingers were underwater, which is a bit novel. But you have to roll with the punches at champs, and bringing away a medal is the most important thing, no matter what happens.”
Indeed it was so wet that several of her fake fingernails had come off – afterwards she pointed to them and her silver rings. “I need to start wearing some gold jewellery,” she joked, after adding another silver medal to the one she won over 200m at last year’s world championships in Tokyo.
And while nine Team England athletes have pulled out of these championships in the past week, Hunt also made an eloquent case for why it was important to show up.
“I think it’s really important as a track athlete,” she said. “We don’t get much representation in terms of media. We’re not NBA players. We’re not on TV three times a week and everyone’s seeing our faces.
“And it’s really important in terms of my journey and my legacy as an athlete,” she said. “I don’t want to go on my Wikipedia page in 30 years’ time and just see one or two medals. I want to see lists and lists of medals.”
Earlier on a night where conditions could hardly have been more spiteful, Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme defied Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy in the final strides to take gold in the men’s 100m.
For 95 metres, Kennedy ran a stormer. But moments before the line he stuttered slightly, as Eseme charged from third to first to come through in a Commonwealth Games record of 9.83sec. For Kennedy there was a compensation of a silver medal and an Australian record of 9.85.
But this night will linger longest in memory for the rainageddon that settled over Glasgow and never stopped.
As it hammered down, some high jumpers sported umbrellas in between jumps. Others winter coats. The Indian Pooja Singh, the 19-year-old Asian champion, took even fewer chances. She wore a thick coat, a woolly hat and gloves.
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Conditions had eased slightly by the time that the women’s high jump resumed at 9.08pm after a 90-minute delay. However conditions were far from ideal and England’s Morgan Lake went out early having failed three attempts at 1.82m, her opening height.
Long after almost everyone had gone home it was finally won by Australia’s Eleanor Patterson, who jumped 1.96m, ahead of her compatriot Nicola Olyslagers.
Other field events on the night were affected too. The first thrower in the hammer competition, Scotland’s Angela McAuslan-Kelly, found the protective net. So did Australia’s Stephanie Ratcliffe, who went second. No wonder there were ironic cheers when the third competitor to throw, England’s Charlotte Payne, found the field.
But it turned out to be a great evening for Australia as Ky Robinson sprinted clear to win 10,000m gold in 27mins 48.93sec, ahead of India’s Gulveer Singh. Not far behind was the Isle of Man’s David Mullarkey, who won bronze – and his island’s first-ever track and field medal at a Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, although Hunt left the track wanting more, she was eventually able to find perspective.
“I might have a little glass of champagne,” she said. “Because I think you have to celebrate the moments. Otherwise, you kind of get 70 years old and think, have I even enjoyed my life?”
And with that she broke into a broad smile.
