Zharnel Hughes has withdrawn from the men’s 200m heats on Monday night during the Paris Olympics due to a recurring hamstring injury that affected his preparations for the event.
The 29-year-old had a disappointing performance in the men’s 100m on Sunday, finishing sixth in his semi-final with a time of 10.01 seconds, which did not qualify him for the final.
This setback comes almost a year after Hughes secured bronze at the World Championships following his gold medal win at the 2022 European Championships.
In further bad news for the Team GB athlete, it was announced on Monday that he would also miss the 200m heats due to tightness in his hamstring.
Hughes’s condition will be closely monitored over the next 48 hours; he has not been completely ruled out of the games, though it appears unlikely he will be fit enough for the 4x100m relay scheduled later this week.
Zharnel Hughes has pulled out of Monday night’s men’s 200m heats at the Paris Olympics
Hughes’ preparation for the Olympics was plagued by concerns about his fitness, following a serious hamstring injury sustained last month.
This challenge weighed heavily on him, as he expressed after his disappointing 100m semi-final performance on Sunday.
‘It was just last month,’ Hughes remarked. ‘Recovering from that injury isn’t easy, especially considering the severity of it.’
‘I had a grade two tear on the outside of my hamstring, so not having enough racing experience to get into shape was really my main hurdle.’
This latest setback adds to Hughes’ tough Olympic history; he previously false-started in the 100m final at the Tokyo Olympics, after achieving victory in the 200m at the European Championships two years ago.
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