Zharnel Hughes is the world’s fastest man in 2023 and the quickest British sprinter ever. The 27-year-old completed the 100m in 9.83 seconds earlier this year, breaking former Olympic champio…
"It’s just a great privilege to be in the same company that he once was.”The sprinter had a gun pointed in his face in January 2018 as an armed robber confronted him in the car park of his training base at the University of West Indies in Kingston.Recalling the incident, Hughes said: "I was at the trunk of my car putting on my sneakers and I saw this shadow in front of me. Then this guy is asking me for my phone and wallet.
"I was thinking, 'What?' and then I see his gun. So then it is, like, 'OK, is this actually happening to me?' "It was one of those panic situations. The gun is pointing at my stomach and my face and then I just got the smallest window because, I don’t know, he was looking away for a second. I took my chance."I just jumped down and hid under a car. Then someone else, a licensed firearm holder, came and fired back at him. Shots were being exchanged and the guy starts running away and firing wild shots all over the place. Other athletes were jumping down.
"When it was over, I got out and saw they were lying in the gravel, under the benches. There was a girl who uses the track and she was having an asthma attack. I went to my car and I was sitting there, thinking, 'What was that?' It was all just a few seconds but, wow."The sprinter has another passion and he is already working towards making a career out of it one day.
During his spare time, Hughes uses a flight simulator to practice flying aircraft - and his goal is to become a pilot once his sprinting career is over.
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