Sprints star explains what it takes to achieve such brilliant form on a day that also sees a former world junior hammer champion enjoy a great comeback

In the quest to challenge for medals at the World Championships this summer, Zharnel Hughes was briefly hospitalised earlier this year after a particularly gruelling workout.

Hughes was training in Jamaica under Glen Mills – the man who guided Usain Bolt – and had to be given medical help after a tough session of 300m reps. Such hard work has led to him being in the form of his life and on Sunday (July 9) in Manchester he became the first man to seal a 100m and 200m double at the UK Championships since Marlon Devonish in 2007.

After winning the 100m on Saturday during a freak storm in 10.03, he cruised to victory in the 200m in 19.77 – a time that would have broken John Regis’s British record if it hadn’t been for a 2.3m/sec tailwind.

Joe Ferguson was runner-up with 20.43 with Jona Efoloko third in 20.45 and Adam Gemili fourth in 20.53.

“I am the fastest man in the world and it didn’t happen overnight,” said Hughes. “It took a lot of hard work. If you were to see some of the clips of me training you will see why I’m so happy with the results.

“I push myself tirelessly. I ended up in hospital (earlier this year after training) because I couldn’t breathe and my sugar dropped a little bit. I was forcing myself to hit the times and the recovery times.

“That day was a difficult day for training. I over-exerted myself. I didn’t pass out but I couldn’t recover properly and every time I tried to get up I couldn’t stand up for long.

“I’m grateful to see the rewards happening for the hard work. We still have time to go and I can get a lot faster. I know I’m in the shape to run 19 seconds, that’s what is exciting. It can come again.”

Linford Christie, the former UK 100m record-holder, was among the spectators in Manchester and he had some congratulatory words for Hughes. Coming up in a fortnight, the 27-year-old sprinter will take on Fred Kerley, Noah Lyles, Erriyon Knighton and others at the Diamond League in London before topping up his fitness ahead of Budapest with more hard training sessions.

Tade Ojora made it a hat-trick of 110m hurdles titles as he beat Josh Zeller to the line in 13.16 (+3.2) to 13.34. “Now I need to get a lot of training in before the Worlds as I don’t want to just show up there, I want to get to the final and hopefully on the podium,” said Ojora, who is based in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California and already has the qualifying mark for Budapest.

Another US-based Brit, Kenny Ikeji, came into the hammer final as favourite but the recent NCAA champion had a bad day and was only fifth with 68.07m as Jake Norris threw a PB of 74.75m to beat Ben Hawkes (70.08m) and Craig Murch (70.02m).

Norris, who has just turned 24, won the world under-20 hammer title in Tampere in 2018 during his first year studying at Louisiana State University. But he then got concussion and whiplash while throwing indoors and it set off a chain reaction of injury problems.

He has been back in the UK for the past year at home in Eton and with his long-time coach Paul Dickenson and on the evidence of his performance in Manchester he has found his form again in style.

Ben East was another delighted thrower as he took his first senior British title in the javelin aged 19 with 72.97m. The Team Kennet athlete was a title-winning and record-breaking young athlete and is now transitioning to the senior ranks with success.

“Unfortunately, I just missed the cut for the European Under-23 Championships earlier,” he said, “but today has made up for that and I will be looking to build on this going forward.”

Alex Haydock-Wilson took the 400m in 45.97 as Lewis Davey pipped Michael Ohioze for silver. British record-holder Matt Hudson-Smith barely made it into the start of the back straight, though, before pulling up.

Haydock-Wilson said: “I had been feeling so frustrated as I have achieved in Europe but not here at the nationals, so I am so relieved to finally get the win here.”

Alastair Chalmers said it was “windier than a day at the beach in Guernsey” after taking 400m hurdles gold with a season’s best of 49.49 from Seamus Derbyshire. “To win the British Champs four years in a row is pretty rare, so I’m really pleased,” added Chalmers, who has come back from a hamstring injury in the spring which sidelined him for six weeks.

Elsewhere, Charlie Myers took the pole vault crown with 5.20m, Efe Uwaifo jumped 16.20m (2.7) to win the triple jump and Joel Clarke-Khan took the high jump with 2.18m.