Stars of track united by need for speed
ZHARNEL HUGHES plans on owning an airline while Reece Prescod just wants to buy a Volkswagen Beetle for his mum.
Britain’s sprint kings have little in common when it comes to their idea of a dream machine. But today they are united by a need for speed at the European Championships.
Whoever wins the 100 metres in the stadium where Usain Bolt broke the world record in 2009 and before that Jesse Owens defied Hitler in 1936, will propel himself towards fame and fortune. Hughes, dubbed ‘captain’ by former training partner Bolt as he works towards his pilot’s licence, is already flying high.
Prescod, twice British champion at the age of 22, prefers to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
“I’ve got real life to deal with,” said the Londoner. “I’ve still got to pay my council tax, my service charge and things like that.
“I come from a single parent family and my mum’s helped me out for the past couple of years. My priority is to look after her. She needs a car, she wants a Beetle convertible. I can’t ignore that. I can’t make it all about me.
“Anyway, I’m not one for frivolous things. If I went to the Gucci or Louis Vuitton store and bought something everyone would go, ‘That’s cool’. But is it really cool? I’d rather just be a champion.”
Prescod is ranked fifth behind Hughes but was one of only two Europeans to make last year’s world final – the other being Frenchman Jimmy Vicaut.
Vicaut is back for more but Prescod is unfazed by the occasion. “I don’t wake up to be the best in Europe,” he said.
“What drives me to train is to be world champion, to be the best. This is a steppingstone to what I want to do.”
Hughes has this year been shot at in Jamaica and disqualified for obstruction after ‘winning’ the 200m at the Commonwealth Games.
“I’ve been through a lot,” said Hughes, 23, who clocked 9.91secs in June and went even faster when breaking his pilot school’s solo flight record. “It has helped me create a strong mindset.”
Dina Asher-Smith, Hughes’ former girlfriend, is favourite to land the women’s 100m, while Andy Vernon aims to improve on his 10,000m silver medal behind Mo Farah in Zurich.
Meanwhile, British athletics captain Dai Greene withdrew from the 400m hurdles heats yesterday because of a hamstring injury.