Zharnel Hughes (born 13 July 1995) is an Anguilla-born British sprinter who specialises in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

. Born and raised in the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

, he has competed internationally for Great Britain in the Olympic Games,

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

and

European Athletics The European Athletic Association (EAA, more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for Sport of athletics, athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. E ...

events, and for England at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

, since 2015. A double

(

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

), double

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

(

) gold medalist as part of the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

, Hughes has twice been European champion individually; over 100 metres in 2018, and 200 metres in 2022. In 2023, he broke both British sprint records, before winning his first global individual medal, a bronze in the 100 metres at the 2023 World championships. Hughes had significant success in his youth representing Anguilla, winning at the

CARIFTA Games The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The games were first held in 1972 and consist of track and field events including sprint races, hurdles, middle distance track ev ...

Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics The Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships was a junior athletics competition held between the nations of Central America and the Caribbean Islands promoted by the Central American and Caribbean Athletic Confederation (CACAC). It i ...

and the

Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The Pan American U20 Athletics Championships are a biennial sports event for track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and thr ...

. He holds the Anguillian national records in both 100 m and 200 m. Following his transfer of allegiance Hughes placed fifth in the 200 m final at the

2015 World Championships in Athletics The 2015 IAAF World Championships ( zh, 第十五届世界田径锦标赛), the fifteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 22 to 30 August at the National Stadium in Beijing, China. Forty-three nations won medals, 144 of ...

. Injury affected his 2016 and 2017 seasons and he was eliminated in the rounds-stage at the

2016 European Athletics Championships The 2016 European Athletics Championships was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, between 6 and 10 July 2016. It was the first time the Netherlands hosted the event. Due to 2016 being an Olympic year, there was no racewalking and the marathon competi ...

and

2017 World Championships in Athletics The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011. Bidding p ...

. He returned to fitness in 2018 and won the

title at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

with England. Hughes crossed the line first in the final of the 200 metres at the Games, but was disqualified for impeding an athlete in the neighbouring lane. He won in both the 100 metres and

at the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

, and in both the 200 metres and

at the

2022 European Championships The 2022 European Championships were the second edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Munich, Germany from 11 to 21 August 2022. The event started three d ...

representing

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and once more won in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

, again representing

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 2019 he achieved his first global senior medal, a silver in the 4 × 100 metre relay at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global sport of athletics, athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athleti ...

. He achieved a second medal, a bronze, in the same event at the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

. He was also part of the Great Britain team that finished second to Italy in the final of the 4 × 100 metres relay at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. On 18 February 2022 it was announced that Hughes and his teammates CJ Ujah,

Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake Nethaneel Joseph Mitchell-Blake (born 2 April 1994, London) is a British sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres and the 4 × 100 metre relay. He was the 2013 European Junior Champion and his personal best of 19.95 seconds ranks him as the s ...

and

Richard Kilty Richard Kilty (born 2 September 1989, Middlesbrough) is a British sprinter who competes both Indoor and Outdoor across all the sprint events including 60 metres, 100 metres, 150 metres, and 200 metres. An exceptional starter, and consider ...

would be stripped of their

second place after

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

found Ujah guilty of a doping violation. Hughes won the bronze medal in the same event at the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

, along with Mitchell-Blake and Kilty, in addition to debutants

Jeremiah Azu Jeremiah Azu (born 15 May 2001) is a Welsh sprinter. He is the 2025 European Indoor Champion and 2025 World Indoor Champion over 60 metres. In 2024, he became the first Welshman to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds in wind-legal conditi ...

and Louie Hinchliffe. Hughes is the British record holder over 100 m and 200 m as well, with 9.83 s and 19.73 s respectively. He is equally the second fastest European in history over each of these distances, behind (two Italians)

Marcell Jacobs Lamont Marcell Jacobs Jr. (; born 26 September 1994) is an Italian track and field sprinter and former long jumper. He is the 2020 Olympic 100 metres champion, the 2022 60 metres world champion, the 2022 and 2024 European 100 metres champi ...

(9.80s) and

Pietro Mennea Pietro Paolo Mennea (; 28 June 1952 – 21 March 2013), nicknamed ("the Arrow of the South"), was an Italian sprinter and politician. He was most successful in the 200 m event, winning a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and setting a wor ...

(19.72s) respectively. Hughes trains with the

Racers Track Club Racers Track Club is a sprint training group located at 3 Port of Spain Drive, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica. It was established by Glen Mills with the stated aim of producing a greater number of world champions than any o ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

under coach Glen Mills, with clubmates including

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

Yohan Blake Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100 metres, 100-metre and 200 metres, 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ...

and

Delano Williams Delano Williams (born 23 December 1993) is a British sprinter, originally from the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. In June 2013, it was confirmed that Williams would henceforth compete for Great Britain, as was his r ...

Career

Youth career

Hughes was born in

The Valley, Anguilla The Valley is the Capital (political), capital of Anguilla, one of its fourteen Districts of Anguilla, districts, and the main town on the island. , it had a population of 3,269. History Historical landmarks The Valley has few examples of colonia ...

, where his mother worked as a housekeeper and his father as a taxi driver.Fraser, Graham (1 April 2014)
Sprinter Zharnel Hughes may compete for Team GB at Olympics
BBC Sport. Retrieved 2018-06-23. His family is Jamaican on his mother's side and several of his relatives did sprinting at a low level. Hughes recognised his talent for the sport at the age of ten, when he won several races at a local school

sports day Sports Day (British English & Canadian English), field days (American English), or play days (Canadian English) are events staged by many schools and offices in which people participate in competitive sporting activities, often with the aim of w ...

where he ran for Orealia Kelly Primary School (formerly Stoney Ground Primary). He made his first international appearance for Anguilla at the

2010 CARIFTA Games The 39th CARIFTA Games was held in the Truman Bodden Sports Complex in George Town, Cayman Islands, on April 3–5, 2010. A detailed report on the results was given. Records In total, 13 new games records were set. ;Key: Austin Sealy Awar ...

at the age of fourteen, placing eighth in the

final. The following year he improved to sixth at the 2011 CARIFTA Games and made the final at the

2011 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the IV Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Isle Of Man 2011, is a multi-sport event which took place from 7 to 13 September 2011 in the British Crown Dependency of the Isle of Man. ...

, having his first runs under 11 seconds that year.Zharnel Hughes
IAAF. Retrieved 23 June 2018. Hughes established himself in regional age category competitions in 2012, setting 100 m and

championship records at the

2012 Leeward Islands Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 Leeward Islands Junior Championships in Athletics took place on June 9–10, 2012. The event was held at the A. O. Shirley Recreation Ground in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Detailed reports were published. A to ...

, taking 100 m bronze at the

2012 CARIFTA Games The 2012 CARIFTA Games were held in the Bermuda National Stadium in Hamilton, Bermuda between April 6—9, 2012, the fourth time in which the event was held in Bermuda. The other years being 1975, 1980, 2004. A detailed analysis of the results an ...

, then a 100 m silver and 200 m gold at the

2012 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics The 19th Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships were held in the Estadio Jorge "Mágico" González in San Salvador, El Salvador, between 29 June and 1 July 2012. The event was open for athletes from the invited countries, that are m ...

. He was selected to represent Anguilla at the

2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Athletics U20 Championships, World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international Sport of athletics, athletics competition for athletes qualifying as Junior (athletics), juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the E ...

(his global debut) and was a semi-finalist in the short sprints, as well as setting a national record of 20.90 seconds. He ended that year with a personal best of 10.42 seconds for the 100 m. He was awarded a scholarship in 2012 to attend the IAAF's Regional High Performance Training Centre in Jamaica and began to study at Kingston College. Soon after he had the opportunity to train with world record holder

. Hughes continued to progress in the 2013 season, winning 100 m gold at both the 2013 CARIFTA Games and the

2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships The 2013 Pan American Junior Championships was held at the Estadio Alfonso Galvis Duque in Medellín, Colombia, from 23 to 25 August. The competition was originally scheduled for 2–4 August in Lima, Peru. Lima was ruled out as the host and the ...

. He also made his first appearance in senior international competition at the

2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics The 24th Central American and Caribbean Championships in Athletics were held at the Pista de Atletismo "Ernesto Canto" del Complejo Olímpico Bicentenario in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, between July 5–7, 2013. A total of 44 events were c ...

, reaching the final and recording a personal best of 10.23 seconds in the heats. At the 2014

Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls Championships The ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships (better known as Champs) is an annual Jamaican high school track and field meet held by Jamaica's Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association. The five day event, held during the last week before ...

he broke

's meet record for the 100 m with a time of 10.12 (Blake had earlier challenged training mate Hughes, saying he could not beat his time). He also recorded a new best of 20.32 seconds in the 200 m semi-finals but withdrew from the final due to an injury. This time ranked him as the number one under-20 athlete in the world that year. He focused on the 200 m the rest of that year, winning the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships in Athletics in a championship record of 20.33, but falling short

Senior career

Following his successes in 2014, the question of his eligibility for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

arose, as

was not a nation recognised by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

. As a resident of a

British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

, Hughes was eligible to compete for

Team GB Team GB is the brand name used since 1999 by the British Olympic Association (BOA) for their British Olympic team. The brand was developed after the nation's poor performance in the 1996 Summer Olympics, and is now a trademark of the BOA. ...

and, following in the footsteps of fellow Anguillian

Shara Proctor Shara Proctor (born 16 September 1988) is a former British long jumper born in Anguilla. She is the national record holder of both Anguilla and Great Britain. On 28 August 2015 at the World Championships in Beijing she became the first British, ...

, he ultimately confirmed in June 2015 that he would represent Great Britain in all

events. Hughes said "I have always known that if I was to run at the Olympics it would be in a British vest and that is how I have always dreamt it would be." The move received a mixed reaction from British athletes, with

saying that several national team members were unhappy with non-British-born athletes transferring to the team (thus increasing competition for funding). Former British sprinters

Darren Campbell Darren Andrew Campbell, (born 12 September 1973) is a British former sprint athlete. He was the sprint coach at Wasps Rugby Club for the 2015–16 season. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay. ...

and

Daniel Caines Daniel Stephen Caines (born 15 May 1979) is an English former athlete who mainly competed in the 400 metres. Early life Caines was born in Solihull. He was educated at Solihull School, a British independent school in the affluent West Midlan ...

supported Hughes, noting that Britain was the home nation for people from its colonies. He began his 2015 season with a new national record of 20.15 seconds for the 200 m in March, placing second to

Anaso Jobodwana Anaso Jobodwana (born 30 July 1992) is a South African sprinter. He competed in 200 metres at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London where he ran a new personal best of 20.27 seconds to reach the final. In the 2015 World Championships in Beijing, ...

at the Cayman Invitational. Hughes made his

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

debut in June at the

adidas Grand Prix The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, New York. The event was part of the IAAF Grand Prix from 2007 to 2009. For 2010 it was promoted to the top-level Diamond League through 2015. ...

in New York, where he was commended for almost beating world champion Usain Bolt. His first British national title win came at the

2015 British Athletics Championships The 2015 British Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, held from 3–5 July 2015 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. It was organised by UK Athletics. A full range of o ...

at the start of July, gaining him selection for the

. Wins over 200 m at the

London Grand Prix The London Athletics Meet, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games and London Diamond League, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix even ...

and

Athletissima Athletissima is an annual athletics meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Diamond League. The first edition was held on 8 July 1977 in the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. In ...

meets moved him to the top of the Diamond League rankings. His new best of 20.05 seconds at the London meet also made him Europe's top ranked sprinter. He improved further in the 200 metres World Championships final in Beijing, recording a time of 20.02 seconds to place fifth while his clubmate Usain Bolt defended his world title. Hughes missed the

2016 Olympic Games The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio due to a tear in his right knee ligament, sustained in a fall earlier in the season. He competed at the 2016 British Athletics Championships against doctor's warnings, but could only manage fourth. He also attempted to persevere at the

, but dropped out of the heats and brought his season to a close. His injury rehabilitation in the 2017 season was slow, and he continued to experience pain while running, while affected his performances that year.Landells, Steve (16 May 2018)
High and low – Zharnel Hughes
IAAF. Retrieved 2018-06-23. Competing with the British

quartet, the team failed to finish at the

2017 IAAF World Relays The 2017 IAAF World Relays was the third edition of the biennial, global track and field relay competition between nations. It was held April 22–23, 2017, in Nassau, Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is a ...

, but set a championship record of 38.08 seconds to win at the

2017 European Team Championships The seventh European Athletics Team Championships were held from 23 to 25 June 2017. Super League Place: Stadium Lille Métropole, Lille, France Participating countries * * * * * * * * * * * Men's events Women's events Score table Fin ...

. Hughes placed fourth in the 200 m at the

Adidas Boost Boston Games The Adidas Games, formerly the adidas BOOST Boston Games and today officially known as the adidas Atlanta City Games, is an annual track and field meeting and street meet in Atlanta, Georgia. The event was originally held in Boston, Massachusett ...

and

2017 British Athletics Championships The 2017 British Athletics Championships was the national championship in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, held from 1–2 July 2017 at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. It was organised by UK Athletics. A full range of ...

. On the

2017 IAAF Diamond League The 2017 IAAF Diamond League was the eighth season of the annual series of outdoor track and field meetings, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It is the first to feature the new championship-style system ...

circuit he was fifth at the London Grand Prix then had a season's best of 20.22 seconds for third at the Rabat Meeting. His injuries left him drained in the rounds at the

and he ended up seventh in his semi-final. His performances improved towards the end of the year, with third place in the 100 m at the British Athletics Grand Prix in Birmingham and sixth at the

Memorial Van Damme The Memorial Van Damme is an annual athletics event at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, that takes place in late August or early September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it now serves as a final event of the D ...

200 m. In the 200 m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Hughes – competing for

– placed first in the final, but was disqualified for impeding the runner-up,

Jereem Richards Jereem Richards (born 13 January 1994) is a Trinidadian track and field sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres and 400 metres events. He won the bronze medal in the 200 m at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and gold for the 400 ...

of Trinidad and Tobago. With his teammates Hughes won in the 4 × 100 metres relay, where he ran the second leg alongside Reuben Arthur,

and

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey Harry Leslie Aikines-Aryeetey (born 29 August 1988) is an English former Commonwealth sprinter and television personality, known for appearing as "Nitro" in the BBC sports endurance competition series '' Gladiators''. He has also taken part in ...

for England. Hughes proved himself among the world's best 100 m runners in the 2018 season. He improved his best to 10.01 seconds in February, ran a

wind-assisted In track and field, wind assistance is the benefit that an athlete receives during a race or event as registered by a wind gauge. Wind is one of many forms of weather that can affect sport. Due to a tailwind helping to enhance the speed of the at ...

9.99 to win at the Boston Games (beating Yohan Blake and

Tyson Gay Tyson Gay (born August 9, 1982) is a retired American track and field sprint (running), sprinter who competed in the 100 metres, 100 and 200 metres, 200 meters. His 100 m personal best of 9.69 seconds is the United States records in track ...

), then set a world-leading time of 9.91 seconds in June, becoming the 129th person to break the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less ...

. This raised him to second on the all-time British rankings behind

Linford Christie Linford Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former Sprint (running), sprinter and athletics coach. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes ...

, and equal with

James Dasaolu James Dasaolu (born 5 September 1987) is a retired British track and field athlete who specialised in the 100 metres. He was the 2014 European champion over the distance. In July 2013, he became the second fastest Briton of all time after runni ...

. In 2021, Hughes reached the 100 m final at the delayed

, but was disqualified for a false start. Hughes and the British team placed second in the 4 × 100 relay, but were disqualified when teammate CJ Ujah was found guilty of doping. At the

2022 European Athletics Championships The 2022 European Athletics Championships were the 25th edition of the European Athletics Championships and were held in Munich, Germany, from 15 to 21 August 2022. They were part of the 2022 European Championships, European Championships, a multi ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany, Hughes won gold in the 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay along with silver in the 100 m. In June 2023 he broke

's British 100 m record when he recorded a time of 9.83 seconds in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

at the New York Grand Prix. In July 2023, at the

British Athletics Championships The British Athletics Championships is the premier national championship in track and field held in the United Kingdom, and are organised by British Athletics. The event has doubled as the main trials meet for international team selection for maj ...

, Hughes ran 19.77, faster than John Regis's national 200 metre record, but with a slightly too strong following wind (2.4 m/s) for record purposes, although his winning margin of 0.66 seconds was the largest winning margin for the men's 200 metres at these championships for over thirty years. A few days later, he ran a legal 19.73 at the London Diamond League, setting a new UK record and European sea-level record. By breaking 20 seconds, he became the third Briton and the 54th man in history to break 10 seconds for the 100 metres and 20 seconds for the 200 metres. The following month, Hughes won a bronze medal in the 100 m at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary. Hughes was given a medical exemption to miss to

2024 British Athletics Championships The 2024 British Athletics Championships (sponsored by Microplus Timing) is the national championships in outdoor track and field for athletes in the United Kingdom, which also served as a qualifying event for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The even ...

after injuring his hamstring at a meeting in Jamaica. He was selected to compete in the 100 m, 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay at the

. Hughes went out in the 100 metres semi-finals at the Games in Paris and withdrew from the 200 metres before the heats. He won a bronze medal in the 4x100 metres relay. In December 2024, it was announced that Hughes had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded

Grand Slam Track Grand Slam Track is a professional track and field league, first announced in 2024 by American former Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson. The first season ran from April to June 2025. After being initially announced in February 2024, the n ...

Bests

Hughes is the first non-USA and non-Jamaican man to break 9.85 s for 100 metres and 19.85 s for 200 metres, a feat he achieved in July 2023 ten days after turning 28. ;Personal bests His 200 m time is a European sea-level record. ;Seasons bests ''Times given in seconds and senior world rank in parentheses''

International competitions

Track records

As of 15 September 2024, Hughes holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres.

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

References

External links

* * * * * * * *
Zharnel Hughes
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Zharnel 1995 births Living people People from The Valley, Anguilla British male sprinters English male sprinters Anguillan male sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Anguillan people of Jamaican descent English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners British Athletics Championships winners Black British sportsmen 21st-century Black British people Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games People educated at Kingston College (Jamaica) Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Diamond League winners 21st-century English sportsmen

Career

Youth career

Senior career

Bests

International competitions

Track records

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

See also

References

External links