Amber Anning

Amber Anning is a British sprinter specialising in 200m and 400m. She was born on November 18th, 2000, in London, England. By the age of 18 she was a GB Junior and Senior international medallist. In March 2023, she ran the opening leg of the University of Arkansas Razorback 4x400m relay team, which ran a World indoor Best of 3:21.75 at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championship.
 
Early Life and Background
Anning has lived most of her life in the city of Brighton and Hove. She is the eldest of three siblings. She began her athletic journey in Australia when she was five years old, developing an early passion for track and field. On returning to Hove, England, she joined Brighton Phoenix Athletic Club before moving to Brighton and Hove Athletic Club when she was 10 years old. 
An active child, she took part in ballet, tap and jazz, competitive swimming, hockey and netball. A talented defender, she was a county player from age 13 and on the England Netball regional pathway until she chose to focus on athletics aged 16. 
In 2015 at the England age group Championships, she ran the 300m in 38.73 seconds to break the British under-15 record held by Dina Asher-Smith and set a then European Age 14 besthttps://athleticsweekly.com/featured/all-go-for-amber-anning-38802/. She won the English Schools Championships Junior Girls 200m title in 2015 and the 300m Inter Girls title in 2016.https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/athletes-on-form-on-day-two-of-new-balance-english-schools-championships/. She became the Sportshall UK All-Rounder Champion in 2016 and was their Ambassador for the next year. Amber has won five national age group titles over 200m, 300 and 400m and numerous silver medals, including U17W Triple Jump. 
Anning was coached by the legendary Lloyd Cowan MBE from the age of 16 until his death in January 2021. She was guided by Dennis Shaver at Louisiana State University and, since 2022, has been coached by Chris Johnson at the University of Arkansas. 
Anning could compete for three countries, Britain by birth, Australia by citizenship or Jamaica via her maternal grandparents. 
Athletic Career
Anning made her international debut aged 16, at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in Nassau, Bahamas. She competed in the 400m event and Mixed 4x400m relay. In the individual 400m event, she secured the bronze medal and in the relay, contributed to the team's silver medal performance.
In 2018, aged 17, Anning won bronze in the 200m at the British Indoor Championships,https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/doyle-dominates-in-birmingham-to-round-off-spar-british-athletics-indoor-championships/ showcasing her versatility as a sprinter. The following year, she achieved a significant milestone by winning silver at the British Indoor Championships in the 400m.https://athleticsweekly.com/event-news/sophie-mckinna-wins-uk-shot-put-title-with-big-throw-1039920598/ Her time of 53.00 seconds behind Zoey Clark, earned her a place on the European Indoor Championships team and also saw her break a nearly 50-year-old Junior indoor record set by Marilyn Neufville.
At the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Anning was “disappointed” to be knocked out in her individual heat, despite putting up a gutsy front running performance. Sprint legend Michael Johnson commentating on her race, said: "A young athlete not afraid to go out and run from the front indoors is exactly what you want. It shows a tremendous amount of confidence and potential."https://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/17471570.brighton-hove-athlete-praised-olympic-legend-michael-johnson/ Two days later, Anning ran the third leg in the 4x400m relay and secured a silver medal alongside teammates Laviai Neilsen, Zoey Clark, and Elidh Doyle. Later that year, she won an individual silver medal at the European U20 Championships in Boras, Sweden, and anchored the 4x400m relay team to gold.
In February 2022, at the NCAA South East Conference (SEC) Indoor Championships, competing for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks on her home track, Anning ran 400m in a time of 50.68 seconds. This was the third fastest time run indoors by a British woman (behind Nicola Sanders and Katharine Merry) and ranks 11th fastest indoors or out on the All-Time British rankings. It was the fastest time run indoors by a British woman for 22 years.https://www.britishathletics.org.uk/news-and-features/weekend-update-24-27-february-2023/
In March 2022, running for the Razorbacks at the National Collegiate Indoor Championships, Anning was part of the 4x400m relay that ran 3:21.75 to smash the previous world best held by Russia by almost two seconds.https://athleticsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/archive-issues/AWApri2023wholemagreduced.pdf Her opening leg of 51.47s is the 5th fastest first leg ever run indoors. The relay time is a World Best but not a World Record as the athletes Amber 🇬🇧, Joanne Reid 🇯🇲, Rosie Effiong 🇺🇸 and Britton Wilson 🇺🇸 come from three different countries.https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=videos&video_id=353549 The relay win secured the national title for the Arkansas Women's team. 
Education and Personal Life
Anning attended West Hove Junior School in Hove and Brighton and Hove High School for Girls. At 11, she secured a scholarship to Roedean School in Brighton, where she achieved 10 GCSEs, all at A*-A. She moved to Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) in 2017 and in August 2019 attained 3 As in her A Levels, getting the results two days after she had arrived in the USA to become a student-athlete at Louisiana State University (LSU).
In 2022 Anning transferred from LSU to the University of Arkansas. 
Achievements
Amber Anning's notable achievements in athletics include the following:
·World Best, 4x400m relay, NCAA Div 1 Indoor Championship (2022)
·Silver medal, 4x400m relay, European Indoor Championships (2019)
·Silver medal, 400m, European U20 Championships (2019)
·Gold medal, 4x400m relay, European U20 Championships (2019)
·Bronze medal, 400m, Commonwealth Youth Games (2017)
·Silver medal, Mixed 4x400m relay, Commonwealth Youth Games (2017)
·Bronze medal, 200m, British Indoor Championships (2018)
·Silver medal, 400m, British Championships (2019)[https://athleticsweekly.com/event-news/sophie-mckinna-wins-uk-shot-put-title-with-big-throw-1039920598/ 
·Under 20 British Indoor record] (400m), British Indoor Championships (2019)
·Under 15 British record (300m), England Athletics Age Group Championships (2015)
Category:2000 births
Category:People from London
Category:English people
[Category:British sprinters]]