ZHARNEL HUGHES admits he has been fired up by Noah Lyles’s trash talk and sometimes wishes the loudmouth American would SHUT UP.
Britain’s fastest man was riled by the 100 metres and 200 metres world champion as they clashed last year on the Road to Budapest.
Their rivalry was the subject of the Netflix Sprint series and Hughes, 29, was not happy with the dismissive nature of Lyles’s reactions towards him in press conferences.
Speaking ahead of their 100 metres reunion this Saturday in London, it was put to Hughes that Florida-born superstar Lyles, 26, has a habit of running his mouth off.
Hughes, the world championship bronze medallist in the 100 metres, laughed: “He’s still talking. I saw the preview of the show and then I realised he’d said a lot.
“I was like: ‘Oh, this guy can talk.’ I know you talk but I didn’t know you talk that much!
“Obviously me being a competitor it raised all the red in me. I was like: ‘This guy…he just needs to shut up!’
“My girlfriend is the one who keeps me calm. She is like: ‘Babe don’t get flared up, don’t let it get into your head because at the end of the day it could be psychological.’
“He’s saying these things so you guys can be thrown off psychologically.
“So, for me, I use that burning desire, that red in me as an athlete and I try to put it out on the track.
“I’m looking forward to actually sitting down and hearing all the things he had to say.
“It’s just the perfect timing leading up to the Olympic Games. I’ll see him in London. We’ll meet there and have a talk.
“He just has a loose mouth, he just likes to talk. I guess that’s how he gets his confidence, so I can’t blame him.
“At the end of the day he is performing as well so I have to give him his credit. But I’m prepared, I’m looking forward to racing against him.”
Hughes, speaking to SunSport on behalf of sponsors Vita Coco, suffered a grade one tear in his hamstring in Jamaica on June 1.
It meant he had to skip the European Athletics Championships in Rome and the GB National trials in Manchester.
The Anguilla-born runner had a week and five days off following the injury but he is confident he will be fully fit for the Paris Olympics, which start a week on Friday.
Last time he was at the Stratford stadium, he ran the fastest time for a Brit over 200 metres – 19.73 seconds – which broke John Regis’s 1994 mark of 19.87 seconds.
Hughes said: “God willing, I’m looking forward to showing up and giving one of my best performances because it’s going to be on home soil.
“Everyone is going to be there. I’ll feed off the energy that will be given to me and I’m looking forward to just laying it down there.
“Last year was extraordinary. We had 50,000 show up. The fact this is the last Diamond League before the Olympics, I’m pretty sure it will be stacked.
“With the crowd being there, the support I have in the national stadium, I will be ready to unleash what I need to unleash.
“Athletics is in a great spot. People are becoming more in tune with it because of social media and then the Netflix season.
“People have been waiting four years. For the athletes like myself, we’re bringing a different shift towards the sport.
“People can gravitate towards us. There’s more talk on social media.
“People like to see the rivalries and what goes on behind the scenes. It’s going to be good. My confidence is coming out more.”
Zharnel Hughes is an ambassador for Vita Coco. Catch their big summer giveaway live at www.vitacoco.co.uk for your chance to win Thirst Place
