British record holder over 100m and 200m, Zharnel Hughes is ready to take on Seville, Lyles and the rest of the world at the forthcoming World Championships in Japan. And he’s a dab hand at making sushi too!
Zharnel Hughes is the British record holder over both the 100m and 200m. He has twice been European champion and won the bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.
We caught up with him at a Vita Coco sushi making masterclass at at Sushi Workshop London, before he flies out to Tokyo for the 2025 World Championships where he will be running both the 100m and 200m.
How do you feel your season has gone so far to this point?
I think my season has been quite an interesting one. You know, it started off quite early, in March and April and then having to stretch out the program basically all the way until September. It’s quite long, but it’s been an enjoyable season so far.
Did you take a mid-season break, or did you just try to extend the season over a longer period of time?
There were no breaks whatsoever. The program has been calculated to be running the fastest times nearer towards the championship. So my coach and I, we’ve definitely been strategic with regards to how many races we’ve been running, what are the most important ones and to be sharp as possible going into the championships.
Karsten Warholm was talking at the Diamond League Final as being about 95 or 96% ready right now. Where do you think you’re at? And what do you do between now and the start of Tokyo to fine tune that percentage?
I definitely agree with Karsten about being 95%. The next two weeks [before the World Championships] is all about finer details. There’s not much we can really do right now, with regards to running over distance. It’s just fine tuning, getting in shorter distance repetitions, running rapid times, and ensuring that my rest is just as important as the speed that we’re trying to get.
Leading to the championship, you don’t want to be doing too much because you don’t want to burn yourself out. Today I plan some 60 metre efforts, and some over 40 metres – that’ll be sharp tuning. It’s all about the detail. So no volume, very short reps, and probably a maximum of two to three reps in a session.
You’re flying out to Tokyo today {Monday}. Does it take a while to acclimatise?
It definitely does take some time. But British Athletics has been very strategic with regards to the science – they sent a group out there before to experience what it’s like, and then they come back, and give us – the athletes – the findings and how to translate that into practical things.
It starts as soon as we’re on the aircraft. The day we’re traveling, we make sure we’re in our compression socks to keep the circulation working well; we little naps here and there; and make sure we’re hydrating throughout the entire flight and when we arrive. It’s all very calculated. Obviously, it’s going to take a couple days to get used to the time difference but after that, I’ll be fine.
You’re running both the 100m and 200m in Tokyo. Which one are you most looking forward to and which one presents the best opportunity for you?
I’m not counting myself out over either of them. At the end of the day, you have to show up. Some people might be going in with faster times than I have right now, but, on the day, you have to make it count. There are no clear favourites and anyone can win on the day.
How much do you spend in the gym currently and in the off season?
I probably have one more week of gym, and then as I get closer towards the championship, it’ll probably be just in the gym. During winter training, I’ll probably be in the gym four times a week.
What’s your least favourite session?
I’d probably say 250 metre repeats. I don’t really like those, because running 250m is alien to me – it might sound strange but it feels harder than running a 300m. With the 300m you can be a bit more calculated in regards how you want to wind up your speed, whereas the 250m is flat out and you’re just hanging on for the last 50 metres.
Zharnel Hughes is an ambassador for Vita Coco. Want to Refresh Like an Athlete? Visit www.vitacoco.co.uk
