Zharnel Hughes withdrew from Monday night’s men’s 200-meter heats at the Paris Olympics following a recurrence of a hamstring injury that disrupted his preparation for the games.
Hughes, 29, had a disappointing Sunday in the men’s 100m, where he could only manage a sixth-place finish in his semi-final in a time of 10.01 seconds, meaning he failed to qualify for the final.
That disappointment came almost a year after Hughes, who won gold at the 2022 European Championships, claimed bronze at the World Championships.
And now, in further pain for the Team GB star, it was announced on Monday that he would not be racing in the 200m heats due to a hamstring strain.
The problem is expected to be monitored over the next 48 hours, and Hughes is not completely ruled out of the Games, although it seems unlikely he will be fit enough to take part in the 4x100m relay later this week.
Zharnel Hughes withdrew from Monday night’s men’s 200-meter heats at the Paris Olympics
Hughes’ preparation for the Olympics has been dominated by fitness concerns, with the 29-year-old having suffered a major blow last month when he sustained a hamstring injury.
This was something the sprinter regretted after his disappointment in Sunday’s semi-final.
“It was last month,” he said. “It’s not easy to recover from something like that, especially from what I had.”
“I had a grade two tear on the outside of my hamstring, so obviously my problem was not being able to do enough races to get fit.”
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