Zharnel Hughes breaks Linford Christie’s British 100m record, set in August 1993: “I woke up with a dream [on Saturday] morning. I woke up with 9.83 on my mind. When I looked at the clock and saw 9.83, I was like: ‘What just happened there!’ It actually came through. Manifestation is real”
Zharnel Hughes produced the performance of his dreams to break Linford Christie’s 30-year-old British 100m record on Saturday, winning at the NYC Grand Prix in 9.83 seconds.
The 27-year-old exploded off the blocks and held off Jamaican Ackeem Blake by a tenth of a second to break former Olympic champion Christie’s national record, set in August of 1993, by four hundredths of a second.
Top 10 men’s 100m times in history
| Athlete | Time | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usain Bolt | 9.58 (+0.9) | August 16, 2009 | Olympiastadion, Berlin |
| Tyson Gay | 9.69 (+2.0) | September 20, 2009 | Shanghai |
| Yohan Blake | 9.69 (-0.1) | August 23, 2012 | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne |
| Asafa Powell | 9.72 (+0.2) | September 2, 2008 | Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne |
| Justin Gatlin | 9.74 (+0.9) | May 15, 2015 | Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium, Doha |
| Christian Coleman | 9.76 (+0.6) | September 28, 2019 | Khalifa International Stadium, Doha |
| Trayvon Bromell | 9.76 (+1.2) | September 18, 2021 | Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi |
| Fred Kerley | 9.76 (+1.4) | June 24, 2022 | Hayward Field, Eugene, OR |
| Ferdinand Omanyala | 9.77 (+1.2) | September 18, 2021 | Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, Nairobi |
| Nesta Carter | 9.78 (+0.9) | August 29, 2010 | Stadio Guidobaldi, Rieti |
It was an auspicious performance for Hughes, who trains with retired great Usain Bolt’s coach Glen Mills, with the World Championships set for August in Budapest.
Hughes, who took silver in the 100 metres and gold in the 200 metres at the European Championships last year, told reporters he has “no expectations” for the worlds, with more work left to be done.
“I wasn’t coming up here thinking about breaking records – I just wanted to run fast,” said Hughes, who planned to reward himself with a classic slice of New York pizza after the Continental Tour Gold event.
“I didn’t try to do anything crazy. I didn’t try to say, ‘Get the perfect start’ – I didn’t get the perfect start — but I relaxed and that’s what’s really important for me.”
