Zharnel Hughes Correctly Predicted He Would Break British 200m Record at London Diamond League

• Zharnel Hughes is having a terrific season ahead of the 2023 World Athletics Championships
• He predicted his exact time of 19.73 seconds in the 200m at the London Diamond League
• Hughes broke the British 100m record last month

Three-time world champion, Noah Lyles stole the show in the London Diamond League on Sunday, but British sprinter Zharnel Hughes achieved an incredible feat after finishing third in the 200m.

Hughes clocked 19.73 seconds, the exact time he predicted he would produce to break the 30-year British record. Botswana's Letsile Tebogo finished second behind Lyles.

In front of 50,000 fans, Hughes shattered John Regis's previous national record of 19.94 seconds, set in 1993, by 0.21 seconds. This comes a month after the 28-year-old broke Linford Christie's long-standing 100m record set at the World Championships in 1993.

In his post-race interview, Hughes revealed he had written down the exact time before the race.

The reason why Sha'carri Richardson removed her wig before US 100m race

Athletics

"It's the exact time," he said. "If you want to come around here, you can check it out. It depends how I am feeling and, if I know I am in good shape, I just write down a time and I use that time as a target. I don't care about winning as long as I execute the plan that my coach wanted and we get the British record. I wanted to do it here on home soil and I did it," he said, via Sky Sports.

Earlier this month, Hughes clocked 19.77 seconds with an illegal wind speed to win the British 200m title in Manchester. He added that the late Kobe Bryant's 'Mamba Mentality' helped push him through.

"I spoke to you about that Kobe Bryant mentality. For me, I just wanted to go there and give it a great performance."

Tebogo broke the African 200m record by running 19.50 seconds. He finished second just a day after finishing second in the 100m in Monaco Diamond League. Lyles also backed Hughes to break the record a day before the event.

More than 50,000 watch Australia edge France in World Cup boost

Football

Hughes breaks British 100m record

Last month, Hughes smashed Linford Christie's 100m record of 9.87 seconds set at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. He clocked 9.83 seconds in New York. It is the fastest time in the world this year, and the second fastest ever by a European athlete.

The British sprinter beat Jamaica's Ackeem Blake (9.93) to clinch victory at the New York Grand Prix. Hughes is coached by Glenn Mills, who coached the world record holder in 100m and 200m, Usain Bolt.

Hughes will look to take his confidence to the 2023 World Athletics Championships, which is set for next month in Hungary.

Five facts about Noah Lyles

Turning attention back to Lyles, the 26-year-old has already declared his intentions to attempt a double at the World Athletics Championships later this year.

He will be aiming to join Bolt (four times) and Allyson Felix (triumphs in 2005, 2007, and 2009) as the only athletes to win three consecutive gold medals in the 200m.

The straight-talking American sprinter is often spicy in his interviews, calling it as he sees it. Sports Brief takes a look at some unknown facts about Lyles.