Britain’s record-breaking sprinter has been cranking up the speed since Diamond League meeting as he prepares for Paris
With the 2024 athletics programme now in full flow, all eyes will be on the electrifying men’s 100m race as the heats begin on Saturday (August 3). Will Italy’s Marcell Jacobs retain his Olympic crown or will USA’s reigning world champion Noah Lyles sprint to victory? Perhaps the fastest man this year, Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, will seize the spotlight.
Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes is among those striving for a medal in the final on August 4, ready to make his return to the Olympic stage.
Yet, the journey hasn’t been smooth for the 29-year-old. A grade-one tear in his right hamstring forced him out of the European Championships in June, complicating his entry into the Games.
The Anguillian-born sprinter, who is locked in to run both the 100m and 200m, made his comeback two weeks ago at the London Diamond League. He finished sixth in a race won by Lyles, clocking 10.0 seconds (-0.3).
Zharnel Hughes (Mark Shearman)
“London was my first 100m so it was just to find out where we are at going into the Olympics,” says Hughes.
“We new I was in great shape so I just needed to get out there to have a feel of pushing my body through competition after injuring my hamstring. I ran 10.0 coming back from the injury I had, which is quite impressive.
“I’ve spent the last two weeks cranking up the speed properly and I am already faster than I was in London.”
This won’t be Hughes’ first appearance at the Olympic Games, having made his debut in Tokyo 2021. He advanced to the final, carrying Britain’s hopes for a medal, but was disqualified after a false start.
In the wake of that disqualification, Jacobs emerged to claim the crown. Overcoming the disappointment and a string of subsequent false starts has been a challenge for Hughes to overcome.
Zharnel Hughes is DQ’d after a false start (Getty)
But overcame he did and, last year, smashed Linford Christie’s 30-year-old 100m record by 0.04 seconds at the New York City Grand Prix with a time of 9.83 .
A month later Hughes continued his record-breaking form as he ran 19.73 in the 200m at the London Diamond League, breaking John Regis’ British mark. For both records he accurately predicting his times in his notebook before each race, manifesting the fast times. He also secured a bronze medal at the World Championships in Budapest that year.
Men’s 100m (Getty)
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