As the countdown to the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo ticks down to just three months, the sprinting world is buzzing with anticipation. Legends will return, young stars will rise, and for Zharnel Hughes, it’s personal.
The British speedster has spent years being a contender, a perennial ‘one-to-watch.’ Hughes is determined to rewrite the moment that left a scar on his career in Tokyo 2021.
“It would be amazing to rewrite history from there,” Hughes told Athletics Weekly.
The memory of that heartbreaking false start in the Olympic 100m final has never fully left him. It was supposed to be his breakthrough moment on the sport’s grandest stage. Instead, it became his most painful.
Fuel from Failure
The Tokyo heartbreak might have haunted him, but it also hardened him. And after a stretch of setbacks, injuries, and near-misses, Hughes has meticulously rebuilt not just his form, but his mindset.
“I’m ensuring that my recovery is on point, always making sure I’m eating properly, getting proper sleep, and getting regular treatment,” Hughes shared.
The real shift, however, came with fatherhood. Sprinting, once a job, is now a mission. Every early morning, every painful workout has a new meaning. A new motivation. A little boy watching his dad chase greatness.
Redemption in Sight
Though Hughes has been painfully close in recent months, clocking a 9.97 in Paris but missing the final, and a second-place finish in Philadelphia’s Grand Slam Track 200m, there’s a sense the breakthrough is near.
Hughes believes he’s finally crafted the formula to disrupt the usual order.
“Obviously, I want to medal. That’s the main goal,” he admitted. “But I want to lower my times, too. I want to be on that podium. That’s what I’m working for.”
And it’s not just the World Championships in his crosshairs. Once Tokyo is done, his focus shifts to the European Championships on home soil in Birmingham, a venue etched in his memory from his Commonwealth Games glory days.
“Last time I ran there was the Commonwealth Games, and the support was just top-tier,” Hughes recalled.
“Anytime you run in the UK, you can expect that kind of support… hopefully we can perform for the fans.”
Ghosts of the Past, Eyes on the Future
For a sprinter once anointed Britain’s next great hope, the road has been anything but smooth.
“[The hamstring injury] was just last month. It’s not the easiest thing to come back from,” he revealed.
Yet if there’s one thing Hughes has proved, it’s that he refuses to be defined by past failures. While the mixed 4x100m relay remains a possibility for the future, right now, his focus is singular, redemption in Tokyo.
And when that gun goes off this time, Hughes isn’t just running for medals. He’s running for the version of himself that fell short in 2021, and for the little boy cheering him on from the stands.
