Charlotte Henrich
British athlete
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Charlotte Henrich (born 30 August 2006) is a British sprinter who competes primarily over 400 metres. She finished third in the event at the 2026 UK Athletics Championships and sixth at the 2026 European Athletics Championships as a teenager, where she was also a double medalist in 4 × 400 metres relays. The year before, she was a gold medalist in the 400 metres at the 2025 European U20 Championships. As a 15-year-old, she won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships.[2]
Henrich in 2026 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (Welsh)[1] |
| Born | 30 August 2006 France |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Event | Sprint |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 400 m: 50.45 (London, 2026) |
Medal record | |
Early life
Henrich was born in France, moving to the United Kingdom at the age of five years-old.[3][4] She attended Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School in Canterbury, Kent.[5][6]
Career
She won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem at the age of 15 years-old.[5] She won silver medals in both the individual 400 metres and in the mixed 4 × 400 m relay at the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games, held in Trinidad and Tobago.[7]
She competed at the 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, placing seventh in the final of the 400 metres.[8][9] Later in the championships, she won the bronze medal with the British team in the women's 4 × 400 metres relay.[10] In November 2024, she was named by British Athletics on the Olympic Futures Programme for 2025.[11]
She set an indoor 400 m personal best of 53.94 in February 2025 whilst running in Lee Valley, London.[12] In June 2025, she ran 52.10 seconds for the 400 metres in Regensburg, Germany, before later setting a meeting record of 52.56 to win the U20 Gala in Mannheim.[13][14] In July 2025, she won the title over 400 metres at the England U20 Championships in Birmingham.[15] That month, she lowered her personal best to 51.95 seconds at the London Olympic Stadium at the 2025 London Athletics Meet. She won the gold medal for the 400 metres at the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland in a new personal best of 51.68 seconds, having also ran the fastest qualifying times of all the competitors in the heats, and across the semi-finals.[16][17] In October 2025, she was retained on the British Athletics Olympic Futures Programme for 2025/26.[18] She was nominated for British under-20 female athlete of the year by Athletics Weekly in November 2025.[19]
Henrich was named in the British squad for the 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.[20] On the opening day she ran as part of the British women's 4 × 400 m team as they qualified for the final in 3:21.28, the fourth fastest recorded time by a British quartet, before placing fourth overall the following day in the final.[21][22][23] Later that month, she won the 400 metres in a lifetime best of 51.24 seconds at the Belfast Classic, and ran 51.48 to win representing Wales at the Loughborough Invitational.[24][25] In June, she placed third in the final of the 400 metres at the 2026 British Championships, winning her semi-final ahead of Keely Hodgkinson and running a personal best 50.58 seconds in the final.[26][27][28] The time also broke the Welsh record of Michelle Scutt, which has stood since 1982.[29] Competing at the 2026 London Athletics Meet on 18 July, she improved her personal best and Welsh record to 50.45 seconds.[30]
Heinrich was selected as part of the Welsh team for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, placing fourth overall in the final of the 400 metres.[31][32] On 10 August, she won a silver medal competing for Great Britain at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay in Birmingham. She later placed sixth in the final of the women's 400 metres.[33][34] In a busy championships, she also ran in the preliminary round of the women's 4 × 400 metres relay, in which Great Britain won the silver medal.[35] In September, selected as part of the Great Britain team to compete at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, she ran in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay, running the anchor leg as the team placed second overall.[36][37]
Athletic achievements
Personal bests
| Type | Distance | Time (s) | Wind (m/s) | Venue | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual events | ||||||
| Indoor | 200 metres sh | 24.08 | N/a | London, United Kingdom | 2 February 2025 | |
| 300 metres sh | 37.60 | N/a | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 15 February 2025 | ||
| 400 metres sh | 53.11 | N/a | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 22 February 2025 | ||
| Outdoor | 100 metres | 11.60 | +0.2 | Crawley, United Kingdom | 23 May 2026 | |
| 200 metres | 23.50 | +1.1 | London, United Kingdom | 26 May 2025 | ||
| 400 metres | 50.45 | N/a | London, United Kingdom | 18 July 2026 | ||
| Team events | ||||||
| Outdoor | 4 × 400 metres relay | 3:21.28 | N/a | Gaborone, Botswana | 2 May 2026 | |
| 4 × 400 metres relay Mx | 3:10.47 | N/a | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 10 August 2026 | ||
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | European U18 Championships | Jerusalem, Israel | 1st | 400 m | 53.54 | PB |
| 2023 | Commonwealth Youth Games | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 2nd | 400 m | 53.65 | |
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay Mx | 3:22.29 | ||||
| 2024 | World U20 Championships | Lima, Peru | 7th | 400 m | 52.71 | |
| 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:32.80 | SB | |||
| 2025 | European U20 Championships | Tampere, Finland | 1st | 400 m | 51.68 | PB |
| 2026 | World Relays | Gaborone, Botswana | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.77 | |
| Commonwealth Games | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 4th | 400 m | 51.16 | Representing  Wales | |
| European Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 6th | 400 m | 51.29 | ||
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:21.68 | ||||
| 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay Mx | 3:10.47 |
National championships and competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | England Championships, U17 events | Bedford | 2nd | 400 m | 54.54 | PB |
| 2023 | England Championships, U20 events | Chelmsford | 1st | 400 m | 54.04 | SB |
| 2024 | Welsh Championships | Cardiff | 1st | 400 m | 52.64 | PB CR |
| British Championships | Manchester | — | 400 m | 52.39 | SB PB | |
| England Championships, U20 events | Birmingham | 1st | 400 m | 53.34 | ||
| 2025 | British Indoor Championships | Birmingham | — | 400 m | DNS | |
| England Championships, U20 events | Birmingham | 1st | 400 m | 53.14 | ||
| 2026 | British Championships | Birmingham | 3rd | 400 m | 50.58 | PB |
Personal life
Henrich was born in France, and is of Welsh descent through her mother (who comes from Carmarthen). Her first language was French.[38] She has dyslexia, and has worked to raise Dyslexia Awareness.[4][39]