Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes reaches the 100m semi-finals at the World Championships after clocking 9.97 seconds to finish second in his heat as he predicts fireworks in Oregon and admits ‘it’s really exciting’
Zharnel Hughes has predicted fireworks in the 100 meters after reaching the semi-finals
European champion Hughes clocked 9.97 seconds to finish second in his heat
He is now aiming for the final, although teammate Reece Prescod crashed
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Zharnel Hughes predicted fireworks in the 100 meters after reaching the semifinals at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The European champion clocked 9.97 seconds at Hayward Field and finished second in his heat, behind favorite Fred Kerley.
He reached Saturday’s semi-final in Eugene as he aimed for the final in the evening, but Great Britain’s team-mate Reece Prescod crashed out.
British star Zharnel Hughes has reached the semi-finals at the World Cup in Oregon
Hughes, who only reached the Olympic final with a false start last year, expects a drama on Saturday after seven sprinters ran under 10 seconds in the heats.
“It’s a very fast track. It’s really exciting. What excited me was when the F18s flew over the stadium, gassing me,” said the 27-year-old, who qualified fifth.
Kerley ran 9.79 seconds, I think it’s the fastest ever in the heats. There were some good names in there, but I don’t focus on names, I don’t focus on times. Put what happened in the season behind you. What matters here matters.
Hughes ran 9.97 seconds at Hayward Field and finished second in his heat, behind the favourite
“I said during tests that I was fine, I just have to trust myself, trust my speed. My coach told me “don’t worry about the beginning, just focus on what needs to be done, do it and you’ll be fine.”
‘I didn’t panic. Su (Bingtain) is a great starter, the other guys are great starters and I’ve never been the best starter in the world.”
Prescod ran 10.15 seconds to finish fourth in the fourth heat but failed to secure a qualifying spot in a surprise elimination.
Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala, won his race against the clock, finishing in heat seven. He had visa issues prior to his trip to Oregon and landed just hours before his race and qualified third.
He has also admitted that the track is ‘really exciting’ as it offers a spot in the final in the evening
Defending champion American Christian Coleman who was back from his suspension for missing drug tests ran 10.08 seconds while slowing down on the line.
In the pole vault, Holly Bradshaw withdrew after a freak incident in the warm-up saw her pole break and she clumsily landed in her neck.
She was helped off the mat and chose to stop after experiencing some discomfort.
Laura Muir reached the semi-finals of the 1500m on Saturday with a controlled race to finish second behind Hirut Meshesha of Ethiopia.
However, his teammate Reece Prescod (pictured) was eliminated in a surprise elimination
Muir was at the back of the pack for the first two laps before making her move, clocking in at 07.53 seconds for four minutes. Katie Snowden and Melissa Courtney-Bryant didn’t get ahead.
Amy Strickler threw 17.40m and Sophie McKinna 17.21m but they didn’t make the shot put final.
Previously, Great Britain missed out on a place in the final of the mixed 4x400m relay.
Laura Muir (second from right) dropped to the 1500m semi-finals with a great controlled race
Joe Brier, Zoey Clark, Alex Haydock-Wilson and Laviai Nielsen clocked in three minutes 14.75 seconds to finish sixth in their heat and ninth.
The Dominican Republic won the final – the first gold of the championships – on Friday evening for the Netherlands and the US.
Nick Miller qualified for Saturday’s hammer final after finishing ninth in Pool A with a throw of 77.13m, but Joel Clarke-Khan was unable to make the high jump after jumping just 2.21m.