GB slip to fourth at Europeans, Zharnel Hughes breaks 100m record

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 24 June 2023

Great Britain slip to fourth place in the European Athletics Team Championships, while Zharnel Hughes breaks Linford Christie's long-standing 100m record.

Great Britain slipped two places to fourth on the penultimate day of the European Athletics Team Championships in Silesia, Poland.

GB sat second behind runaway leaders Italy after the opening day of the First Division and added another 112 points on Saturday to increase their total to 243.50.

However, with just one silver medal to their name on the day, GB were overtaken by Poland (258.5) and Germany (256.5), while Italy extended their lead at the summit with a whopping 294 to their name.

Isabelle Boffey was the star performer for Great Britain, adding another 15 points to the total with a second-placed finish, crossing the line with 2:00.39 on the board.

Switzerland's Audrey Werro clinched the gold medal ahead of Boffey with a time of 1:59.95, and the Briton admitted her disappointment at being forced to settle for silver after the race.

"I am a little disappointed not to get the win, but it is a strong performance that I can be proud of," the 23-year-old told BBC Sport.

The moment @zharnel_hughes became the fastest British man in history 😍🇬🇧pic.twitter.com/kvAsUt5M1a
— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) June 24, 2023

Meanwhile, Seamus Derbyshire just missed out on a spot on the podium in the men's 400m hurdles with a fourth-placed finish, while in the women's event, Lina Nielsen sneaked into the top five.

A spate of fifth-placed finishes also saw Josh Zeller (men's 110m hurdles), Lawrence Okoye (men's discus), and Jade Ive (women's pole vault) each put 12 points on the board for GB.

Jake Norris's 71.98 in the hammer throw was good enough for seventh place, while Jack Roach placed ninth in the men's long jump with a best distance of 7.60, and Georgina Forde-Wells ended the women's triple jump in 15th place.

However, both of GB's 4x100m relay teams were disqualified, while there was a moment to remember for Belgian shot-putter Jolien Boumkwo, who stepped in for her teammate in the women's 100m hurdles to put points on the board for her country.

Elsewhere, Zharnel Hughes became the fastest British man ever at the New York Grand Prix, recovering from a poor start to clock 9.83 seconds in the men's 100m, breaking Linford Christie's 30-year-old record of 9.87 from 1993.

Hughes's historic run also saw him post the second-quickest men's 100m time for a European athlete, only behind Italian Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs's 9.80 seconds from the Tokyo Games.