‘CJ is a good man, regardless’: British dash star Zharnel Hughes breaks silence and forgives GB doper CJ Ujah after being stripped of Olympic silver medal
- Zharnel Hughes says he has forgiven the doper who value him his Olympic medal
- He was stripped of his 4x100m relay medal after Ujah examined constructive in Tokyo
- Hughes breezed by the 100m heats on the British Championships on Friday
As he begins his mission to make up for misplaced prizes, Zharnel Hughes says he has forgiven the doper who value him his Olympic silver medal.
Hughes, who breezed by the 100m heats on the British Championships in Manchester on Friday night, was among the many innocents with Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake that had been stripped of their 4x100m relay medals when CJ Ujah examined constructive for medication in Tokyo.
After clocking 10.18sec to win his warmth and qualify second quickest for Saturday’s semi-finals, the European champion broke his silence on the darkest episode in British Olympic historical past.
While Kilty has been scathing of Ujah, Hughes struck a extra shocking tone in saying: ‘What do you want to hear? CJ is a great guy, regardless. What happened to him is unfortunate, sadly.
‘But I don’t present him any disrespect. I haven’t spoken to him in a very long time however, the final time I spoke to him, he apologised and mentioned sorry.
‘I forgive him. Sometimes these things do happen, which is very sad in his case, but I wish him all the best in the future. I can’t change something. It’s already gone. We’ve been faraway from the historical past books. It’s unhappy – however I can’t do something about it.’
British 4x100m relay group had been stripped of their medals after CJ Ujah (above) examined constructive
Hughes’s heats win got here a month after he acquired brutal criticism from Michael Johnson for false beginning on the Birmingham Diamond League, which adopted his disqualification for a similar motive within the 100m Olympic last.
In response to Johnson saying Hughes was ‘taking a lane that should go to someone who’s going to complete the race’, Hughes mentioned: ‘It doesn’t trouble me – it comes with being a high-profile athlete. For me, it’s up to now. I’m specializing in the longer term. I don’t must show something.’
Britain’s foremost male sprinters in Manchester, together with the resurgent Reece Prescod (10.22sec) and Ojie Edoburun (10.18sec), all comfortably made it by the heats, with the primary two in Saturday’s last eligible for choice for subsequent month’s World Championships.
(L to R): Ujah, Zharnel Hughes, Richard Kilty and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake all misplaced their medals
Dina Asher-Smith, the reigning world champion at 200m and silver medallist on the shorter distance, was second quickest within the ladies’s 100m heats. She eased as much as cross in 11.16sec to win by virtually 0.4sec, however was a way down on the short 11.05sec clocked by Olympic finalist Daryll Neita.
With Neita’s sharp progress up to now yr, Asher-Smith is dealing with a stiff problem to defend her nationwide title on Saturday.
Asher-Smith, whose timings rank exterior the world high 12 in each the 100m and 200m this yr, mentioned: ‘The aim was to qualify, come back tomorrow and lift it a bit. I’m good, I’m excited. My aim for the weekend is just to qualify (for the worlds).’
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