GB’s Amber Anning makes history with 400m gold at world indoors | Athletics

Amber Anning stormed to 400m gold to claim her first senior individual international medal on the second day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in China. The British record holder, who collected a pair of relay bronzes at last summer’s Paris Olympics, crossed the line in 50.60sec to pip the United States’ Alexis Holmes by three hundredths of a second, while Norway’s Henriette Jaeger took bronze.

It was redemption for the 24-year-old Anning, who was disqualified from the same event due to a lane infringement at this month’s European Indoor Championships. “It feels amazing,” said Anning, who became the first British woman to win an individual world indoor sprint title. “I came here wanting the win after the disappointment of the Europeans. I wanted the gold and I’m grateful that I was able to get the job done and bring a medal back to the home city.

“I knew with the calibre of girls in this race it was going to be close, especially to get that break. But I stayed strong, I had faith in myself, and I got to the end and I fought for that line.”

Amy Hunt, who claimed 4x100m relay silver in Paris, was delighted by her fifth-place finish in the women’s 60 metres after qualifying for her maiden senior individual world final. She improved on the morning’s semis by running 7.11secs in the final, and said: “I can’t believe I’m fifth in the world in an event that nobody thinks I can do apart from me and my coach!

“That was one of the most fun races I have ever done in my life and at the end of the day that’s what it is all about. I was smiling at the start line, I was stood next to the world champion and I nearly had them. A few inches off, a couple more metres I would have got them.”

There was disappointment for the pole vaulter Molly Caudery, who was unable to defend her title from Glasgow 2024 in a competition plagued by technical issues. The 25-year-old, who has experienced an injury-hampered start to her season, finished fourth.

She said: “It was definitely not what I wanted but I am disappointed to say the least. It was a really, really, tough competition and there were a lot of technical issues, but I don’t want to put any excuses out.

“If there is an hour wait in the middle of the competition when it’s getting to those medal bars – the really important bars – it shouldn’t be happening at a competition like this. The girls did struggle with that – as did I – it ruins the flow and even I know we were all deflated after, but that’s championships for you.”

There are more British medal hopes on Sunday’s final day of competition. The debutant Funminiyi Olajide is in the women’s long jump before Scott Lincoln appears in the shot put. Scotland’s Neil Gourley goes for gold in the men’s 1500 metres final and the Olympic bronze medallist Georgia Hunter Bell is in the women’s final of the same distance.

Sweden’s Armand Duplantis won a third consecutive pole vault title with a leap of 6.15m and the American Grant Holloway cruised to the 60m hurdles crown. Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji denied the pre-race favourite, Zaynab Dosso of Italy, to win her second world indoor title in the marquee women’s 60m sprint in 7.04sec.

Dosso had dominated the heats but could not summon up her best effort when it mattered and had to settle for silver in 7.06, with Patrizia van der Weken of Luxembourg grabbing bronze.

Duplantis was the overwhelming favourite after soaring to 6.27m and breaking the world mark for an 11th time in Clermont-Ferrand last month, and at Nanjing’s Cube the 25-year-old completed a century of jumps over six metres. The twice Olympic champion comfortably scaled 6.05m for the 100th vault over 6.00m and despite a rare blip in his first try at 6.10m, he joined Sergey Bubka and Renaud Lavillenie as a triple world indoors champion.