Zharnel Hughes

Zharnel Hughes is a British track and field athlete born on 13th July 1995. He hails from The Valley in Anguilla and is currently a resident of Great Britain. Hughes specializes in sprinting and has been representing Great Britain and England since 2015 in 100m and 200m sprints.

Background:

Zharnel Hughes was born to Howell Hughes and Zarnalyn Ebanks. He was born and brought up in The Village in Anguilla. He comes from a poor family, where his father was a taxi driver and his mother worked as a housekeeper.

Zharnel realized his talent in athletics at the age of 10 while studying at Orealia Kelly Primary School and won several school races for his school team. In 2012, after completing his school education, he joined Kingston College and also got a scholarship to attend IAAF’s Regional High-Performance Training Centre in Jamaica, where he had got the opportunity to train with Usain Bolt.

Zharnel Hughes moved to the United Kingdom from Anguilla as a resident of British Overseas Territories after his birth country was not recognized as a nation by the International Olympic Committee. He currently trains with Racers Track Club under the tutelage of Glen Mills in Jamaica.

Rise to Glory:

Zharnel Hughes made his international debut at the age of 14 when he competed at the 2010 CARIFTA Games (U17), where he finished 8th in 100m sprints. In 2011, he represented Anguilla at the Commonwealth Youth Games and finished 8th in 100m-dash.

In 2012, Zharnel won his first international medal by clinching Bronze in 100m at the CARIFTA Games (U20). That year, in June, he won his first international Gold medal in 200m and a Silver in 100m at the CAC Junior Championships. In 2013, he won the 100m title at the CARIFTA Games (U20), followed by a 100m Gold medal at the Pan American Junior Games.

In 2014, Zharnel Hughes competed at the World Junior Championships, where he finished 5th in the 200m final by clocking 20.73s. The following year, he claimed his first British national title in 200m at the British Athletics Championships.

Zharnel Hughes is recorded as the world’s joint 39th fastest runner in 100m (9.91s) and joint 88th fastest 200m runner (20.02s).

Major Achievements:

Zharnel Hughes made his senior international debut in 2015 at the World Athletics Championships, where he finished 5th in 200m sprints by clocking 20.02s while representing Great Britain. The following year, he finished at 18th position in 200m heats with a timing of 21.21s at the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

In 2017, Zharnel competed for the Great Britain relay team in 4x100m Relay at the World Athletics Relays and finished 3rd in the heats but didn’t finish the relay in the final. That year, in June, he and his Great Britain relay team won the 4x100m title at the European Team Championships.

At the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, Zharnel helped his England relay team to clinch the Gold medal in the 4x100m relay by clocking 38.13s. That year, in August, he was crowned as European Champion in 100m and 4x100m Relay at the European Athletics Championships. The following year, Zharnel won the Silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships.