Zharnel Hughes WITHDRAWS from men’s 200m heats on Monday night to compound his 100m disappointment and leave Team GB star’s relay hopes hanging by a thread
- Zharnel Hughes failed to qualify for the 100m final at the Olympic Games on Sunday
- The 29-year-old Team GB star was due to compete in the 200m heats this week
- However, Hughes has been forced to withdraw due to a strained hamstring.
Zharnel Hughes withdrew from the men’s 200-meter heats at the Paris Olympics on Monday night after re-injuring his hamstring that disrupted his preparation for the Games.
Hughes, 29, had a disappointing day in the men’s 100 metres on Sunday, finishing only sixth in his semi-final with a time of 10.01 seconds, meaning he failed to qualify for the final.
That disappointment came almost a year after Hughes – who won gold in the 100 metres at the 2022 European Championships – secured bronze at the world championships in the same event.
And now, to the further dismay of the Team GB star, it was announced on Monday that he would not be competing in the 200m series due to a hamstring injury.
The matter will be closely monitored over the next 48 hours. Hughes has not been ruled out of the Games altogether, but it seems unlikely he will be fit enough to compete in the 4x100m relay later this week.
Zharnel Hughes withdrew from the men’s 200m heats at the Paris Olympics on Monday night
A statement from British Athletics said: ‘Zharnel Hughes has withdrawn from the 200m heats tonight due to a hamstring injury. He will need to be closely monitored over the next 48 hours.
‘No decision has been made yet about his participation in the relay
Hughes’ run-up to the Olympics has been dominated by concerns over his fitness, with the 29-year-old suffering a major setback last month when he suffered a hamstring injury.
The sprinter regretted this after his disappointment in the semi-final on Sunday.
‘[It was] “It’s only been a month,” he said. “It’s not the easiest thing to come back from, especially from what I had.
‘I had a grade two [tear] on the outside of the hamstring, so it was clear that I couldn’t play enough games to get into game shape. That was my problem.’
This latest setback is a further blow to Hughes’ Olympic record, as the 29-year-old – who won gold in the 200 metres at the European Championships two years ago – made a false start in the 100 metres final at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
He skipped the European and British Championships due to the aforementioned hamstring injury, but was given a selection match for Paris and indicated he felt fit for these Games.
However, this latest setback looks set to put his Olympic dream in tatters, with the men’s 4x100m relay heats taking place on Thursday, leaving Hughes with just three days to get fit again.
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