Charlotte Henrich targets Los Angeles Olympics after breakthrough senior season

Charlotte Henrich says competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics now feels achievable after a breakthrough first season in senior athletics. In an interview published by BBC Sport on Monday, the 20-year-old Welsh 400m runner described a growing belief in her ability following a summer of records and international medals.

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Henrich told the BBC she had not imagined herself competing at an Olympics while watching Paris 2024. Her outlook has changed since then: she won bronze on her senior debut at the World Athletics Relays in May and finished fourth for Wales at the Commonwealth Games.

One important step came at the UK Athletics Championships in Birmingham in June. British Athletics recorded Henrich's bronze-medal time as 50.58 seconds, an improvement of more than half a second on her previous personal best. Amber Anning won that final in a championship record of 50.16, with Yemi Mary John taking silver in 50.23. Henrich therefore finished 0.35 seconds behind the runner-up.

Welsh Athletics confirmed that Henrich's Birmingham performance also replaced Michelle Scutt's national 400m record, which had stood for 44 years. The achievement gave the Invicta East Kent AC athlete both a national record and a place on the UK championship podium in the same race.

Her season also included second place in the mixed 4x400m relay at September's Ultimate Championship in Budapest. World Athletics' official results list Ben Jefferies, Yemi Mary John, Toby Harries and Henrich in the British team, which ran a season's best of 3:09.40. The United States won in 3:08.32, while the Netherlands finished third in 3:09.57. Britain was 1.08 seconds behind the winners and 0.17 ahead of the bronze medallists.

Henrich told the BBC that her Birmingham personal best had helped her believe she belonged at senior level. She said the year had exceeded her expectations and that working well with her coach, alongside the experience gained this season, left her hoping to improve further. Los Angeles is now an ambition she feels able to pursue.