DQ'd Comm Games sprinter claims huge 100m win
Britain’s Zharnel Hughes has bounced back from his devastating Commonwealth Games disqualification in stunning fashion at the Boston Games.
The 22-year-old was disqualified from a 200m gold medal on the Gold Coast after it was ruled he had impeded with Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards.
But over the weekend he scored a massive win to prove his genuine credentials as a sprinter to watch.
Hughes defeated Jamaican Yohan Blake, South Africa’s 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Akani Simbine and American Tyson Gay to take out the 100m crown on a unique track in Boston.
Aided by a 2.4m/sec tailwind, Hughes surged late to win in 9.99 seconds.
Simbine finished second in 10.03s, Blake third in 10.17s as Gay ended the race in fourth in 10.29.
“That was really incredible for me,” Hughes said.
The sprinter said the makeshift track helped him work on not slamming too hard into the ground on his strides.
“It was a bit bouncy but I made use of it,” he said.
“I’m usually a power runner but I’ve learned not to go so deep down in the ground.”
Hughes did not compete in the 100m sprint at the Commonwealth Games, with the Boston race a quality test so soon after the shock of his 200m DQ.
Watch the moment Hughes was disqualified:
Prior to winning Commonwealth gold last month, Simbine had finished fifth (in 9.94s, no less) at the 2016 Olympics.
Blake’s resume includes two Olympic relay golds as well as 100m and 200m silver medals, though at the Comm Games – his first big meet after Usain Bolt’s retirement – he could only manage 100m and 4x100m relay bronze medals.
A former Bolt rival who has served a ban for doping, Gay still holds the American record with a time of 9.69s in 2009.
with AFP