Hughes registers new 100m world lead as Athing Mu opens season in spectacular fashion

Zharnel Hughes clocked 9.83 seconds to set a new 100m world lead, breaking Ferdinand Omanyala’s 9.84 from last month when he won the men’s race at the USATF New York Grand Prix on Saturday 24 June.

Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake got off to the best start, then 2019 world champion Christian Coleman soon caught up. But Hughes started motoring in the second half and breezed past Blake and Coleman, opening up a healthy lead by the time he crossed the finish line in 9.83 (1.3m/s). Blake was second in 9.93 and Coleman third in 10.02.

Omanyala breezes to 'unexpected' sub-10 victory in AK National Championships final

Not only was Hughes’ 9.83 a world-leading time, it also took 0.04 off the British 100m record that had stood to Linford Christie for almost 30 years. It also makes him the second-fastest European man of all time behind Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs.

Hughes’ winning time is the second-fastest 100m ever recorded in New York. The only man to have gone quicker is world record-holder Usain Bolt, whose 9.72 clocking here in 2008 was a world record at the time. Both men were coached to their performances by Glen Mills.

“I saw them ahead of me and I thought, ‘I’m coming for you’,” Hughes told world athletics. “So, I just relaxed, and I could hear my coach’s voice in my head, ‘Zhaaaarnel, shoulders down!’ So, I just trusted myself, maintained my speed, relaxed and let it flow.”

“9.83 is a dream – I wrote this down this morning,” added Hughes, the 2018 European champion. “I can’t believe it. My coach also told me that I was going to run a PB in New York. I’m not rushing anything, though. Patience, patience, patience. The job is not done yet.”

Meanwhile, Olympic and World 800m champion Athing Mu got her 2023 campaign under way, 11 months since has her last race, with a decisive display in the 800m.

She bid her time on the first lap, covering it in a comfortable 59.57 a few strides behind the pacemaker. She then started to open up her stride with 300m remaining, gradually moving away from the rest of the field.

She crossed the finish line in 1:58.73, two seconds ahead of her nearest opponent, Sage Hurta Klecker (2:00.77), with Allie Wilson a close third (2:00.80).