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Louise Thomas
Editor
Zharnel Hughes has set his sights on breaking a third British sprint record by eclipsing Dwain Chambers’ best in the 60 metres.
Hughes became Britain’s fastest man over both 100m and 200m in 2023 before injury wrecked his 2024 Olympic hopes in Paris.
The 29-year-old insists there is plenty more to come and has now targeted Chambers’ indoor 60m mark of 6.42 seconds, which has stood for over 15 years.
Hughes, looking ahead to next summer’s World Championships in Tokyo, told the PA news agency: “My expectations are high, yes. I aim to run fast. Let’s see what happens.
“My coach and I will have to sit down and look at the schedule, especially the Diamond League schedule.
“We’ll definitely be hitting a few more of those races and I said to my coach that I want to try some 60m races.
“I feel I can also break the British record there. I want to focus on the technical, ensure I’m sharpening the bits that need to be fixed.
My top running speed is one of the best in the world. I'm always going to catch you at the latter part of the race— Zharnel Hughes
“That’s a strategy I’m looking at, attacking the first 60 metres, getting that correct, so it sets me up nicely for the last 40 in the 100.
“It won’t be the World Indoor Championships for sure, but a couple of 60m races just to get me sharp, along with the Diamond League races.”
Hughes, who won 100m bronze at the World Championships in Budapest in 2023, is determined to safeguard against further injury after a hamstring problem scuppered his Paris chances.
In June 2023, he ran 9.83 seconds to break Linford Christie’s 30-year British 100m record and the following month clocked 19.73 seconds in the 200m to better John Regis’ record.
Hughes had predicted his new 100m record time on the morning of the race at the London Diamond League meeting and is bidding to run quicker next year.
“I can’t say exactly what times, but I’m looking at low 9.7s or mid 9.7s,” he said. “Who knows if I can get a 9.6 out of my body? That would be exceptional.
“But I have high standards for myself and there is a lot more to give. I’m working hard on making my body a lot stronger to ensure I stay clear of injuries.”
Hughes, who still favours the 200m over the shorter distances, added: “I’m still trying to learn the 100m a little bit more.
“There’s more to dial down, especially the first couple of metres. That’s one of my weakest points and what I’m trying to really focus on.
“My top running speed is one of the best in the world. I’m always going to catch you at the latter part of the race.
“So I’m trying to focus on the first 30-50m. Next season we’re looking forward to attacking that.”
:: Zharnel Hughes and Dina Asher-Smith have been recruited as Amazon athletes to celebrate Prime Big Deal Days, two days of exclusive deals for Prime members – find out more at www.amazon.co.uk/primebigdealdays
