Zharnel Hughes dedicated his British 100m title to his aunt Iola, whose funeral he missed to compete at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham. The world bronze medallist, who hails from Anguilla, won in 9.94 seconds, fighting back emotion after a sluggish start.
“Today is a very difficult day for me,” Hughes said. “My auntie is getting buried right now. Her funeral is going on and I’m missing out. I was very close with her, so today was a bit of a mental strength game for me.” He added that he had to suppress his feelings and avoid speaking to family to stay focused.
Jeremiah Azu finished second in 9.97 seconds, but his time will not count as a world championships qualifying standard due to a 2.2m/s tailwind. Louie Hinchliffe took bronze in 10.01 seconds. In the women’s 100m, favourite Daryll Neita was disqualified for a false start, allowing Amy Hunt to win in a personal best 11.02 seconds.
Molly Caudery won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.85m, moving top of the global standings. She said she has overcome the trauma of last year’s Olympics, where she failed to record a valid attempt. “It happened. It was just a bad day,” she said. “I definitely don’t think it will happen again.”
Championship records were set in the hammer and discus, with Anna Purchase throwing 72.96m and Lawrence Okoye 65.93m.
