Zharnel Hughes wants to race Matthew Hudson-Smith over 300m for British bragging rights as sprint star says athletics needs to lean into head-to-head battles to win over new fans
Zharnel Hughes says athletics must take a page from boxing’s book when it comes to hyping up rivalries and Britain’s fastest man is already preparing to land a knockout blow on Matthew Hudson-Smith.
The 100m and 200m national record holder and 400m Olympic medallist Hudson-Smith have spent months challenging each other to a duel over 300m. But as track and field faces an uphill battle to win over new audiences, Hughes is convinced two of the country’s best facing off would “bring the excitement.” He even wants a pre-race square off – just as pugilists would during their weigh-in.
“I’m done with the talking about it, I really want to make it happen,” says Hughes before Saturday’s British Championships at Alexander Stadium. “If we were to have a preview like in boxing where you step up like on a weight scale, you go in each other’s faces; you might have a little bit of backlash at each other.
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“It would be pretty cool if someone could pick it up and be like, ‘Okay, seeing that you guys have been talking about it for quite some time, let’s make this happen.’
“See where it goes from there. I would actually like it to be in Birmingham. That’s where he is from. Let’s compete in Birmingham – just so he can shut up.”
Hughes says “the only thing that’s holding us back” is a meet organiser willing to host the battle. But he knows there is a growing responsibility for athletes to put themselves out there, adding: “You have to be in the faces of people if you want their attention.”
As for how he thinks the race would go, in the sprinter’s view there can only be one winner. “I’d beat Matt. He would tell you, ‘I’ll beat Zharnel’. I will beat Matt, that’s for sure. I know he wanted the lane arrangement to be I’m in lane seven, he is in lane six.
“I will definitely blast out, get myself ahead of him, he will be there. I have a quicker 200m than him. So I will separate a little bit from him. But he will start to close down the latter part of the race, that I know for sure.
“The last 30m are where I will hit the lactic wall and him being a 400m athlete will start to come through stronger than I will. It’s just for me to race in the last 30 metres.”
Hughes’ assessment of this evening’s competition over the 100m, which includes world indoor 60m champion Jeremiah Azu, is less detailed though with a place in next month’s World Championships in Tokyo at stake
“I’m not focused on them,” he adds. “If I focus on my craft and try to better what I’m trying to fix in each race, that’s what matters to me.
“Obviously there will be competition but I know for a fact that I’ll be showing up healthy and ready to compete and giving my best. I try not to let it consume me. At the end of the day, I want to go into the trials relaxed. Because you don’t want to be going in there too tense.
“It causes too much pressure on yourself. There’s too much weight on your shoulders. You don’t need that when you’re going into a high, intense competition already. I’m looking forward to just going through the rounds and managing the finals and do what I need to do – and that is to secure my win.”
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