Charlotte Henrich from Canterbury defies odds to win European Under-18 400m title in Jerusalem

Canterbury schoolgirl Charlotte Henrich is the European Under-18 400m champion - and she still can’t believe it.

Henrich stunned the field at Jerusalem 2022 to win gold despite being only 15 and a virtual rookie over the distance.

The Invicta East Kent athlete took part in her first-ever 400m race in June and a week later surprised herself by qualifying for the European Championships with a time of 54.54sec for second place at the Bedford Sprints Invitational.

If that was an unlikely tale of success, Henrich, who’s just completed her GCSEs at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School, defied logic with what happened next as a trio of personal bests to led to European glory.

“I can’t believe it myself,” said Henrich. “When I crossed the line I knew I was first or second but I still couldn’t believe I came first. I was like, ‘What? Did they actually happen?’”

In the extreme heat of Jerusalem, and making her international debut, Henrich won her heat in 54.19 before finishing second to favourite Lurdes Gloria Manuel - the fastest under-18 in Europe this year - in the semis.

She didn’t think she could possibly better her semi-final time of 53.81 but better was to follow when she powered through the final 50m to pip Manuel in the final with a time of 53.54.

Her winning time was the third fastest by a British under-17 girl in history.

“I’d only done two 400s so I didn’t think I’d even qualify for the Europeans, let alone win,” said Henrich.

“That was insane and then it sunk in a bit when I got the kit that I was actually going.

“We arrived and I was like, ‘What do I actually want to do here?’ I checked everyone’s times and at first it was, ‘OK, I’m going to try and get into the semi-finals’ and then I did that and it was, ‘OK, let’s