Amber Anning 400m at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham; home crowd boost for first major outdoor title

2026 European Athletics Championships: Amber Anning goes into Birmingham determined to capture her first outdoor title

Forced to miss the Commonwealth Games due to injury, the 25-year-old GB athlete goes into the week with aspirations of finishing close to 48 seconds in the women’s 400m, to surpass her national record.

Amber Anning is chasing the one thing that has eluded her young career so far.

The 25-year-old, mid-sprinter is intent on capturing her first major outdoor title at this week’s 2026 European Athletics Championships .

Especially after having to bow out of the only other outdoor champion she prioritised – the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last month – and watching from home due to a lingering hamstring injury.

Anning matter-of-factly stated that she’s leaving everything on the track in Birmingham, England, this week.

Despite her success in athletics – bronze in the 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed at the 2024 Olympic Games and 4x400m relay in the 2023 World Athletics Championships – Anning still seeks gold at an outdoor championship.

So she relishes the opportunity being presented: To overcome this “plaguing” injury and potentially place in front of a home crowd.

“[It would mean] everything,” Anning said during a press conference on Friday, 7 August.

“I’ve been speaking about Europeans since last year. To go out there for my first outdoor title in front of a home crowd — that is like a dream come true. And then just to be able to back that up with a relay finish and to win that as well… There’s a lot of rivalry out there. It’s going to be a lot of fun out there. A big battle.

“It would have been my first Commonwealth Games, and I was really upset to miss it. But now the focus is on Europeans.

“Nothing was really going to stop me going to Europeans. So after that second one, I was just a bit like, ‘You know what? We’re going to do everything we can. It’s going to be a rough few weeks, but this is what I’m going to remind myself when I’m on the start line bidding for the European title.’”

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JUNE 21: Amber Anning of Brighton & Hove AC poses for a photo with the national flag following her victory in the Women’s 400 m Final on day two of the UK Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium on June 21, 2026 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Ed Sykes

‘Plaguing’ hamstring injury forces absence from Commonwealth Games

Anning watched the Commonwealth Games via social media and her mother sending her clips following the races. If she wasn’t going to be in Glasgow in person, she’d at least be there in spirit and cheering on England.

“I did watch it,” Anning told reporters. “It was a bit hard, unfortunately, with having to pay and it not being televised. So I had my mum - I was up here - sending me clips and sending me all the heats.

“Social media makes it very accessible to watch the races after they’ve happened now, so I was able to watch it, and I think it was a great performance. I would have loved to be amongst them and try and challenge for that gold medal. But no, I think the girls managed it really well.”

The plan going into the year was for this to be one of the two major outdoor events that Anning competed in.

A pair of hamstring injuries sustained in the spring meant she needed rehab for a 10 and two-week stint, respectively, instead.

Ultimately, Anning made the emotional decision to withdraw from Glasgow, to allow another healthy athlete to compete and in the same stroke, dashed her dream of competing in her first Commonwealth Games.

Even though she and her team agreed this was the right long-term move, it didn’t remove the sting of having to step aside and watch versus partake.

“[It was] extremely frustrating,” Anning said. “I spoke about missing indoors this year to focus on the two major champs – Commies and Europeans. Again, just with the injuries and where we’re at, I just felt like I couldn’t go out there and perform in the way - our body wasn’t ready to go, and we had to make that decision.

“Obviously, being so close to Europeans, it was tough. But I wanted to make sure that I give someone else who’s healthy an opportunity to go out there and represent England. It’s always an honour to represent your country, so it wasn’t an easy call.”

Following her 10-week rehab, Anning went into her first outdoor race of the season - the Rome Diamond League - unsure of what to expect from herself.

The result? She ran a 50.16 to take fifth place in the Italian capital on 4 June. So she heads into this week’s competition feeling more optimistic with the additional rest and training she’s done leading up to Birmingham.

“I think last year I opened up with, I want to say 50.7 or 50.8, one of the grand slams and then this year it was 50.2 or one,” Anning said.

“So even just off not having those weeks to really put the race together, for me to come out open with that, that I was pretty strong… We took our time with the rehab. We could have maybe come back earlier, but there wasn’t a need for it, so we pulled out a few Diamond Leagues. We just made sure that the body was ready.

“We’ve done a really great job of managing it. I’ve been up in Loughborough now for about two weeks, and it’s just been night and day from a treatment perspective. So the aim was to come here and make sure that we’re ready to go for Birmingham.”

Given the field of competition, Anning said it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that she’ll need to surpass her national record (49.29) to win at the Europeans.

That was set two years ago in Paris, and before this recent string of injuries, but if Anning’s performance at the Diamond League in Rome is any indication, she could channel that effort.

And she’s hoping to do so, to the tune of an even more impressive 48-second finish.

“There’s been a lot of focus on times, and you see what the girls are doing now,” Anning said. “I think I’ve spoken so openly about 48 being the standard, and that’s a goal that I believe I’m able to achieve and accomplish.

“If I can put together what I need to do in each section, I feel like – particularly Europeans – this is a great opportunity to go out there and come as close to that record as possible, if not faster.”

Picture by 2026 Getty Images