Zharnel Hughes runs wind-aided 19.55 on straight 200m in Atlanta

The British 200m record-holder impressed in a straight 200m at the adidas Atlanta City Games

Zharnel Hughes laid down a marker after securing victory over 200m with a wind-aided 19.55 (2.2) at the adidas Atlanta City Games (May 17).

The 29-year-old, who holds the British record with 19.73, went well under that mark but his time was just over the legal limit of 2m/s. Jereem Richards placed second with 19.63 and Wayde van Niekerk was third in 20.03.

It’s also worth noting that Hughes’ performance was on a unique custom-built elevated straight 200m track. The Brit has a season’s best of 20.13 on a traditional 200m track, which he recorded during his third place finish over the distance at the recent Grand Slam Track meeting in Miami.

One of the other standout performances at the adidas Atlanta City Games came from Favour Ofili, who set a world best of 15.85 (2.0) in the 150m. The previous mark was Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s 16.23 back in 2018.

Akani Simbine stayed undefeated in the 100m this season after running a wind-aided 9.86 (2.3) in Atlanta. Another athlete who kept his streak going was Trey Cunningham, who clocked 13.16 (0.3).

There were also some extremely close races in Atlanta. Cambrea Sturgis recorded her fastest 100m in four years to edge out McKenzie Long by just six thousandths of a second, with the pair both given times of 10.98 (1.2).

Keni Harrison, with 12.30, beat Tia Jones and Grace Stark, with the duo both clocking 12.36. Alison dos Santos, off the back of triumphing at Grand Slam Track Miami, won the 200m hurdles with 21.85 (1.5).

Lynna Irby-Jackson produced one of the most dominant performances in Atlanta and clocked 22.22 (1.7), with Tamara Clark and Talitha Diggs second and third with 22.71 and 22.79 respectively.