GOBSMACKED Zharnel Hughes says he dreamt about becoming the fastest British man in history – just hours before he officially earned the title.
The 27-year-old sprinter stormed to victory at the USATF New York City Grand Prix in the world’s quickest time this year of 9.83 seconds.
Jamaican Ackeem Blake finished second in 9.93 seconds in the nine-man race while American Christian Coleman, the world champion in Doha four years ago, settled for third place in 10.02 seconds at the Icahn Stadium in Manhattan.
Hughes’ personal best smashed Linford Christie’s British record of 9.87 seconds, which has stood since the 1993 World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart.
Though he benefited from a +1.3 metres/second tailwind, it was deemed to be a legal display.
And the former European champion put his hands over his mouth in disbelief when the time was announced in the stadium.
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Initially it flashed up as 9.84 seconds before being quickly corrected to 9.83 as Hughes looked at the clock in astonishment.
Hughes, who is coached by Usain Bolt’s ex-guru Glen Mills, had previously run 9.91 seconds but this has put him into the record books.
He said: “I woke up with a dream (on Saturday) morning. This morning I woke up with 9.83 on my mind.
“When I looked at the clock and saw 9.83 – I don’t know if you saw my reaction – but I was like: ‘What just happened there!’ It actually came through. Manifestation is real.”
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“I wasn’t coming up here thinking about breaking records – I just wanted to run fast.
“I didn’t try to do anything crazy. I didn’t try to say, ‘Get the perfect start’ – I didn’t get the perfect start – but I relaxed and that’s what’s really important for me.”
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Hughes, a former European 100m and 200m champion, will head to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August tremendous form and confidence.
It is a far cry from his appearance in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics final when he was disqualified for a false start.
Away from the track, Hughes is a qualified private pilot – and once told SunSport he has ambitions to run his own airline one day.
Source: Athletics - thesun.co.uk
