This follows a poll by the International Sports Press Association, where a panel of 529 journalists from 114 countries voted for the champions of 2021. Joining Thompson-Herah in receiving the top honour is Polish footballer Robert Lewandowski, who has been named the AIPS Best Male Athlete of 2021.
The former Manchester High School student, who was named the World Female Athlete of the Year at the World Athletics Awards 2021 earlier this month, retained her Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Tokyo and added a third gold medal in the 4x100m relay. She also ran world-leading times of 10.54 and 21.53 over 100m and 200m respectively, moving to second on the world all-time lists for each discipline.
She topped the AIPS poll with 605 points, ahead of Spanish footballer Alexia Putellas (490 points) and Venezuela's world triple jump record-holder and Olympic champion Yulimar Rojas (346 points).
Other athletics stars joining Thompson-Herah and Rojas in the top 10 are Kenya's Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who claimed 5000m and 10,000m titles in Tokyo as well as 1500m bronze.
Joining Lewandowski in the top 10 for the men's award are Norway's Karsten Warholm, who was named the World Athletics Male Athlete of the Year, plus his fellow world record-holders and Olympic champions Mondo Duplantis of Sweden and Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya.
Thompson-Herah has also been named Athletics Weekly’s Female Athlete of the Year, NACAC Female Athlete of the Year and Diamond League Athletics’ Most Consistent Athlete in women’s sprints for 2021.
Thompson-Herah won four races on the Diamond League circuit for the year, in addition to her three gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics in July.
She ran times of 10.54 and 10.72 to win the 100m at the Eugene and Paris Diamond League meets on August 21st and August 28th, respectively, before winning the event at the Diamond League Final in Zurich in 10.65 on September 9th.
The former Manchester High School student also finished second in the 100m, at the Lausanne Diamond League, in 10.64 on August 26th.
Her only 200m win on the Diamond League circuit this year came in Gateshead where she ran 22.43 on July 13th.
The honour follows the trend of a trophy-filled festive period for the sprinter as she has already been named World Female Athlete of the Year by World Athletics, Athletics Weekly’s Female Athlete of the Year, and the NACAC Female Athlete of the Year in the month of December.
She is also widely favored to be named the RJR Sportswoman of the Year for 2021.
Thompson-Herah, who has endured a season riddled with injuries, took the win ahead of Great Britain’s Imani Lansiquot (10.99), her first time below 11 seconds, and Gambia’s Gina Bass (11.12).
This was only Thompson-Herah’s second 100m race since finishing fifth at the Jamaican trials in July. She ran 11.00 for second at the Zurich Diamond League on August 31.
The 31-year-old was a member of Jamaica’s silver medal 4x100m team at the recently concluded World Championships in Budapest where she ran in the heats.
On the men’s side, Oblique Seville ran 10.01 to take the win ahead of Kenya’s Ferdinand Omanyala (10.04) and South Africa’s Akani Simbine (10.12).
Seville narrowly missed out on a medal in Budapest, finishing fourth in 9.88, the same time credited to bronze medallist, Zharnel Hughes.
Another 100m finalist in Budapest, Ryiem Forde, was seventh in 10.28 on Monday.
Natoya Goule-Toppin rebounded from a sub-par showing in Budapest to take the 800m in 1:57.53, a new meet record.
The USA’s Addison Wiley ran a personal best 1:57.64 in second while Switzerland’s Audrey Werro ran a national record 1:58.13 in third.
Puerto Rico’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, who was upset by Danielle Williams in Budapest, came out on top with a meet record 12.56 in the 100m hurdles. The Netherlands’ Nadine Visser ran a season’s best 12.61 in second while the USA’s Nia Ali ran 12.63 in third.
Shashalee Forbes, a member of Jamaica's silver-medal winning 4x100m team in Budapest, ran 22.74 for second in the 200m behind the USA's Tamara Clark (22.64). Italy's Dalia Kaddari ran 22.86 for third.
Orlando Bennett ran 13.40 for third in the men’s 110m hurdles won by Switzerland’s Jason Joseph in 13.18. Senegal’s Louis Francois Mendy was second in 13.29.
In the field, 2019 World Championship silver-medallist Fedrick Dacres threw 66.19m for third in the discus behind World Champion Daniel Stahl (67.24m) and Kristjan Ceh (67.15m).
The 2019/2020 track season was characterized by meet cancellations and the introduction of virtual formats because the pandemic that has been sweeping the globe since March. However, meets gradually returned largely before empty stadia but many athletes still managed to deliver world-class performances.
Among them was the 2016 double Olympic champion who was fastest in the world over 100m for 2020.
Thompson Herah’s 10.85 set in Rome on September 17 beat out her compatriot and rival Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who ended her year ranked second by virtue of the 10.86s run at the Velocity Fest meeting in Kingston’s National Stadium on August 22.
Rising star Sha’ Carri Richardson, in her first full season as a professional, was third fastest with 10.95.
The Bahamian sprint queen was equally impressive in the year in which she set a personal best of 10.98s in the 100m and the world’s best time of 21.98 in the 200m at the Back to the Track Meeting in Clermont, Florida on July 25.
Richardson capped her great year with a personal best 22.00 that was the second fastest for 2020 while Thompson Herah’s 22.19 ranked her third in the world for the year.
Miller-Uibo, who last year set 48.37 the sixth fastest time in history over the 400m was only second best for 2020 with 50.52 set in Monteverde, Florida on July 4. That time was only bettered by Lynna Irby’s 50.50, the fastest time in the world this year.
Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands clocked 50.98, which made her third best in the world for the year.
Miller, who has season-best times of 10.98 and 21.98 over the 100 and 200m, respectively, was a heavy favourite to win the half-lap sprint. However, she pulled up during the second of two heats won by the USA’s Lynna Irby in 22.52.
Coach Brauman, however, said the athlete felt some tightness, “nothing major,” he said.
Miller-Uibo, the 2016 Olympic 400m champion, had been unbeaten over the 200m for the past two seasons during which she ran a personal best 21.74 run in Zurich on August 29, 2019. Her only loss over the 400m came in October last year at the 2019 World Championships in Doha where she ran a personal best 48.37 only to lose to Bahrain’s Salwa Eid Nasser who ran 48.14, the third-fastest time in history.
The 27-year-old Trinidad stormed to victory in 20.26s leaving Josephus Lyles (20.46) and Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor (20.73) in his wake.
It was his second win from three 200m starts this season following his victory at the Pure Athletics Spring Invitational in Clermont, Florida on April 4 and a second-place finish at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Gainesville, Florida on April 16.
On each of those two occasions, he has run faster – 20.37 in Clermont and 20.30 in Gainesville - but his victory on the weekend was even more impressive considering the -1.3m/s wind he was running into.
“I’m very pleased with my performance last weekend. It gives me a lot of confidence going forward and I’m just trying to keep on building on my progress thus far,” he told Sportsmax. TV.
Richards moved from the University of Alabama under coach Blaine Wiley, who was his coach in 2017 when he won 200m bronze at the World Championships in London and then ran a 43-second relay leg as Trinidad and Tobago upset the USA to win the 4x400m gold medal.
He won the 200m Commonwealth Games title in 2018, silver at the Pan Am Games and then gold in the 4x400m relay at the World Relays in Japan in 2019.
However, moving from Alabama to Florida, he said, was down mainly to the impact of the pandemic.
“With the things that are happening in the world and not being able to train sufficiently with regards to COVID-19 and let’s say it gets back bad and we wouldn’t be able to use the facilities in the College (University of Alabama), I didn’t want to take chances and I decided to put myself in a position where, in the event that this happens, I’m somewhere that I will be able to train, somewhere where I have other professional athletes that might be going through the same struggles,” he told the Trinidad Guardian.
At Clermont, he rubs shoulders with the likes of World Champion Noah Lyles and his brother Josephus and several of the world’s elite sprinters. Training with them each day, he said, has allowed him to bring out his best.
“An improvement that I’ve seen since I moved is being around a lot of talented athletes from all around the world which motivates you to always be your best and push you beyond your limits,” he said.
On Friday, Lloyd, a sophomore at the University of Tennessee, ran a personal best of 7.20 to win the 60m at the two-day Clemson Tiger Paw meeting that concluded on Saturday at the Clemson Indoor Track and Field Complex in South Carolina.
The time erased her previous personal best and national record of 7.27 set in February 2019. She just managed to hold off Kentucky’s Abby Steiner who was a close second in 7.21 and Grenada’s Halle Hazzard, competing for Virginia, who clocked 7.26.
“Setting a new national in the 60m feels amazing,” she told Sportsmax.TV.
“The training I’ve undergone this season paid off in my race yesterday (Friday). This season we’ve been working a lot on improving my reaction time and holding my drive phase longer. Implementing more reaction exercises in my training and stepping up in the weight room has helped me improve in those two areas.”
The 18-year-old speedster also set a new national record on Saturday when she clocked 23.63 in her heat of the 200m, the fourth-fastest time overall.
Steiner was the fastest overall in a new facility record of 22.52. Delecia McDuffie’s 23.24 was the next best while Trishauna Hemmings ran 23.28 for third.
The 2004 and 2008 Olympic champion, who has a personal best of 21.74 from 2008, clocked 23.73 into a headwind of -1.1m/s but finished well clear of Amanda Stead and Amaya Johnson, who were second and third in 24.40 and 24.71, respectively.
This was Campbell-Brown’s first outdoor meet this season. She ran a 7.34 60m dash indoors at Virginia Beach in February.
Her last time under 23 seconds, 22.60 was done in Gainesville, Florida in March 2017.
Campbell-Brown, 38, was out of competition for more than two years recovering from injury and giving birth to her daughter Avianna Amora Brown, who was born in February 2019.
Walcott produced a best throw of 84.82m in the fifth round to take the win ahead of Latvian Patriks Gailums (83.30m) and Curtis Thompson of the USA (82.87m).
Bahamian Anthonique Strachan won the Women’s 200m in 22.66 ahead of Aminatou Seyni of Niger (22.71) and Jenna Prandini of the USA (22.82).
On the Men’s side, recently crowned NACAC champion Andrew Hudson of Jamaica was second in 20.47 behind the USA’s Kyree King (20.40). Charlie Dobson of Great Britain was third in 20.52.
Commonwealth Games champion Janieve Russell ran 55.25 for second in the Women’s 400m hurdles behind American Dalilah Muhammad (54.57). Finland’s Viivi Lehikoinen was third in 55.41.
In 2024, the world’s best athletes will once again take the stage in athletics’ premier one-day series, competing at 15 meetings across four different continents.
Athletes will compete for points in their chosen discipline at the 14 series meetings between April and September, with the most successful qualifying for the Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels on September 13th-14th.
The season begins in Xiamen on April 20th, with the men’s 100m, women’s 200m and a 100/110m hurdles double bill among the headline events. Each discipline will then be staged at least four and up to eight times on the Road to the Final, giving athletes from across the globe enough opportunities to earn points.
Two meetings will be held at a different location in 2024 due to stadium renovation works in their usual locations. The Meeting International Mohammed VI will move from Rabat to Marrakech, while the Wanda Diamond League Shanghai will take place in Suzhou.
The 14 series meetings will each take place in a two-hour TV world programme and will all stage at least 14 Diamond Disciplines. The Wanda Diamond League Final in Brussels will be the only meeting to feature every single discipline, with all 32 Diamond League champions crowned over the course of two days.
The season calendar and the allocation of disciplines remain subject to change.
A list of disciplines for each meeting will also be available under the 'programme and results' page on each individual meeting website.
As well as the Diamond Disciplines, each meeting may also include additional disciplines in their programme, in which athletes will not earn points on the Road to the Final.
The disciplines are as follows: 100m (M,W), 200m (M,W), 400m (M,W), 800m (M,W), 1500m/Mile (M,W), 3000m/5000m (M,W), 3000m Steeplechase (M,W), 110m Hurdles (M), 100m Hurdles (W), 400m Hurdles (M,W), High Jump (M,W), Pole Vault (M,W), Long Jump (M,W), Triple Jump (M,W), Shot Put (M,W), Discus Throw (M,W), Javelin Throw (M,W).
The former Kingston College standout jumped out to 8.00m to secure victory ahead of Florida State’s Jeremiah Davis, who also achieved 8.00m, a new personal best, while his Florida State teammate Isaac Grimes was third in 7.97.
Pinnock has now completed the NCAA double having won the indoor title in Alabama, in March, with a 7.92m effort.
The Caribbean will be well represented in the final of the Men’s 400m through Barbadian Olympian and Texas athlete Jonathan Jones and Jamaican UTEP and former Edwin Allen and Kingston College quarter miler Jevaughn Powell.
Jones ran a comfortable 44.97 to win his semi-final while Powell advanced after finishing third in his semi-final with 45.47.
Jamaican Mississippi State junior Navasky Anderson will contest the Men’s 800m final after running 1:45.94 to win his semi-final.
Barbadian New Mexico senior Rivaldo Leacock advanced in the Men’s 400m hurdles with a 49.86 clocking.
Jamaicans Jaheem Hayles of Syracuse and Lafranz Campbell of Clemson both advanced in the Men’s sprint hurdles with times of 13.44 and 13.48, respectively.
Trinidadian Olympian Eric Harrison of Ohio State ran 20.18 to win his 200m semi-final.
The Men’s finals will take place on Friday, June 10th while the Women’s section gets underway on Thursday, with the finals coming on Saturday.
Pinnock and McLeod, both former Kingston College standouts, now competing for the University of Tennessee, jumped 7.93m and 7.63m, respectively, to advance. They were also the top two finishers at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Alabama in March with Pinnock jumping 7.92m for victory against McLeod's 7.91m.
Former Jamaica College and current Purdue jumper Safin Wills produced 15.89m to advance in the Men’s triple jump.
On the track, Jamaica’s Yanique Dayle and Antigua and Barbuda’s Joella Lloyd will both compete in the sprint double at the NCAA Championships after securing their spots.
Dayle, formerly of Hydel High and now competing for Ohio State, ran times of 11.24 in the 100m and 22.64 in the 200m while Lloyd, competing for Tennessee, ran the same time in the 100m and 23.01 in the 200m.
The Women’s 400m also saw two Caribbean competitors advance from the East Region with Bahamian Kentucky standout Megan Moss (52.07) and Bermudan UMBC athlete Caitlyn Bobb (52.40).
Trinidadian Olympian and Kentucky senior Dwight St. Hillaire ran 45.63 to advance in the Men’s equivalent.
Clemson senior Lafranz Campbell of Jamaica and Cayman's North Carolina A&T senior Rasheem Brown both ran 13.63 to advance in the Men’s sprint hurdles while another Jamaican Clemson representative, Trishauna Hemmings, ran 13.13 to advance in the Women’s 100m hurdles.
Barbadian and Tennessee sophomore Rasheeme Griffith and Jamaica and Kentucky senior Kenroy Williams ran 50.91 and 50.96, respectively, to progress in the Men’s 400m hurdles.
300 children in the communities were gifted toys and food items from her sponsors Digicel and Grace Foods.
Transportation for the gifts was provided by KIG Jamaica.
The 19-year-old was a member of Jamaica’s gold medal-winning Women’s 4x100 team at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, running a blistering first leg to help the team achieve a national record of 41.02.
Williams also won the sprint double at the 2018 World Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland with times of 11.16 in the 100m and 22.50 in the 200m, her current personal best.
Her 100m personal best stands at 10.97 done in Florida in June this year.
Williams won the event in 6.59, a meet record, ahead of Grenadian 2021 World U-20 Championships 100m finalist and Ohio State Junior Nazzio John (6.68) and UTEP’s Xavier Butler (6.74).
Williams, who previously represented the University of Albany, was a silver medallist in the 100m at last year’s NACAC U-23 Championships in Costa Rica.
The men’s 60m open saw a Caribbean 1-2-3 through Barbados’ Mario Burke (6.56), BVI’s Rikkoi Brathwaite (6.67) and Jamaica’s Christopher Grant (6.74).
The open women’s 60m saw 2023 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor champion and World Championship finalist Ackera Nugent run 7.30 for second behind American Jada Baylark (7.22). Kristina Knott of the Philippines was third in 7.35.
Grenadian Arizona State Senior Gamali Felix ran a season’s best 45.90 to win the men’s 400m ahead of Arkansas’ Steven McElroy (46.09) and USC’s Johnnie Blockburger (46.20).
The women’s 200m saw Jamaican UTEP Sophomore Niesha Burgher run 23.09 for second behind USC’s Madison Whyte 23.01. Whyte’s USC teammate Jassani Carter was third in 23.19.
In the field, seven-time Jamaican national champion Kimberly Williams produced 13.83m to win the women's triple jump ahead of ULM's Eunice Ilunga Mbuyi (13.13m) and Oregon's Ryann Potter (12.84m).
The men's equivalent was won by Bermuda's Jah-Nhai Perinchief with 16.36m. Bahamian Kaiwan Culmer was second with 16.26m while Jamaican Arkansas Junior Apalos Edwards was third with 15.86m.
Bahamian Laquan Nairn jumped 7.64m for second in the men's long jump behind South Plains Freshman Andrew Stone (7.70m). Oklahoma Senior Anthony Riley was third with 7.57m.
Jamaica’s two-time World champion, Danielle Williams, will take on newly crowned World Indoor 60m champion and record holder, Devynne Charlton, as well as 2021 Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper.
World record holder Tobi Amusan and reigning Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn are also set to line up on Saturday along with Americans Alaysha Johnson and Masai Russell.
The field is completed by Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji, 2022 World Indoor champion Cyrena Samba-Mayela and China’s Yanni Wu.
Reigning Olympic champion Hansle Parchment will compete alongside countryman Orlando Bennett in the 110mm hurdles.
Bajan two-time World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams will line up in the 400m alongside Guyana’s Aliyah Abrams.
Bahamian Anthonique Strachan will take on some of the world’s best in the 200m.
Finally, Jamaica’s World Indoor 60m bronze medallist Ackeem Blake, 2011 World 100m champion Yohan Blake and reigning national 100m champion Rohan Watson will all line up in the 100m against a stacked field including the likes of American world champions Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley.
The diminutive Jamaican was among several Caribbean athletes, who delivered outstanding performances at the meet as Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards ran under 46 seconds indoors for the first time to win the 400m while Danielle Williams ran a lifetime best to win the 60m hurdles.
The 30-year-old Goule, who was second to Ajee Wilson at the Millrose Games on January 29, ran 1:59.62 to win the 800m ahead of Olivia Baker, whose 2:00.63 was a personal best. Isabelle Boffey also ran a personal-best 2:01.37 for third.
Goule said afterwards that she was very grateful for the performance because she went into the meet heavily loaded after a hard week of training.
Richards had an encouraging start to his indoor season when he sped to a personal indoor best of 45.84 to win the quarter-mile sprint.
The Trinidadian held his form down the home stretch to hold off Vernon Norwood of the USA, who was second in a personal-best 46.06. Khamari Montgomery was third in 46.24.
The women’s event was won by the USA’s Jessica Beard in a season-best 52.88. Kyra Constantine of Canada took the silver with her time of 52.96 while Jamaica’s Roneisha McGregor ran a personal best 53.01 for third.
Jamaica went 1-2 in the women’s 60m hurdles won by Williams, the 2015 world champion, in a season-best 7.83, just holding off her fast-finishing compatriot Britany Anderson, who ran a personal-best 7.88. The USA’s Gabrielle Cunningham clocked 7.92, a season-best, for third
The meet represented an opportunity for 19-year-old Briana Williams to rebound from her disappointing performance over 60m at the recent Millrose Games where she finished fourth in 7.22, beaten by Aleia Hobbs, Mikiah Brisco and 16-year-old high school student Shawnti Jackson, who ran a USA high-school record and personal best 7.18 for third, which was also Williams’ lifetime best.
On Sunday, Williams bounced back in style, uncorking a personal best 7.09 to win her preliminary heat and advance to the finals with the fastest time. It took a world-leading run of 7.07 from Brisco in the final to deny Williams, who ran a smart 7.11 for second place. The USA’s Destiny Smith Barrett clocked a personal best 7.14 for third.
Noah Lyles won the men’s equivalent in a personal best 6.56 ahead of Barbados’s Mario Burke, who crossed the finish line in a season-best 6.63. Travis Collins ran 6.64 for third.
In the men’s 200m, the USA’s Trayvon Bromell pulled out all the stops to hold off Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor and win in 20.64. Taylor stopped the clock in 20.81. The USA’s Elijah Hall was also in the mix, finishing third in 20.82.
The 22-year-old Whyte, who ran a blistering leadoff leg to set up Jamaica’s impressive win in the sprint relay team in Doha last October, secured a sprint double at the meet held in Marietta, Georgia.
In what was her first race in months Whyte clocked a solid 11.57s to win the 100m while running into a stiff headwind of -1.8m/s. She completed the double when she also won the 200m in 23.59. She told Sportsmax.TV that she was happy to be competing again after months of quarantine lockdown.
“It felt great being able to compete for the first time. I was eager to see where I am at competition-wise since I haven’t been able to train as I would want to but I am pretty pleased,” she said. “Hopefully there will be more meets and I can take it one race at a time and finish the season on a positive note.”
Under circumstances where she was unable to train for some time because of the Covid19 pandemic, Whyte said she was satisfied with the times.
“The times were not bad being that I was unable to use any training facility for about three months. I had to improvise and get smart with what I had available. So things were challenging but the time was okay for the first race under the circumstances of the lockdown,” she said.
The pandemic might have crippled the world for the past few months but it has not shifted Whyte’s focus on achieving her goals, especially after her inspiring performance in Doha that has whetted her appetite for more high-quality global competition.
“Training started out great after Doha. I was working on my weak points and I was really looking forward to the 2020 Olympics but we can’t change the things we can’t control. However, I am still excited about the upcoming Olympics. My goals haven’t changed,” she said.
“I am just eager to get competing and to see where I am and to improve and take what I have learnt into the next season to come.”
The 29-year-old Jamaican successfully defended the title she won last year in Oregon while breaking her own championship record of 21.45. In Budapest, Jackson dominated the field to win in 21.41, the second fastest time in history.
Only Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34 set back in 1988 has been faster than Jackson’s time. At Wednesday’s press conference, Jackson revealed she was disappointed at not getting closer to the world record but understood that the conditions were not ideal.
During the 200m final, the trailing win was a negligible 0.1m/s so when the moderator Colin Jackson asked whether the world record would have been in jeopardy had she had the maximum allowable wind of 2.0m/s, Jackson replied, “I didn’t know the wind at the time but when I going around and I saw it I was like, why couldn’t I get a little (1m/s) or something, but it’s give and take. Unfortunately, I didn’t get it on that day but I have three more 200s this season, so definitely.”
However, for Thursday, Jackson, who admitted that she is a bit ‘under the weather’, sees the 200m race as an opportunity to make a few adjustments to her race. “Coach and I have been working on some small details in the 200m. I think for the remainder of the season it’s all 200s. I just finished the world championships. I had a good training session yesterday (Tuesday), hopefully I have a good one today too, so it’s just to have some fun tomorrow.
“I don’t think tomorrow will be super-fast but I just want to have some fun and execute as best as I can.”
In Zurich, Jackson will line up against Bahamian champion Anthonique Strachan, Great Britain's Daryll Neita, the USA's Jenna Prandini, Tamara Clark, Twanisha Terry and Brittany Brown.
Richards, 28, was Trinidad and Tobago’s only medalist at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in March when he clocked a smart 45.00 to win gold for the twin-island republic. However, speaking with Sportsmax.TV this week, he outlined his plans for his national championships.
“This weekend I’ll be competing in just the 200m and my expectation is I break the 20-second barrier once again,” said Richards, who last broke 20 seconds when he ran 19.99 in Doha in May 2018.
Outside his personal objectives, Richards said he believes TT will field a strong team for the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon in July.
“I’m excepting that team TTO will be strong in the respected events such as sprints relays and throws,” he said, explaining that he believes he, Dwight St Hilaire, Machel Cedenio and Asa Guevara will be part of the make-up of his country’s 4x400m relay team.
TTO will also likely have the in-form Keshorn Walcott, the 2012 Olympic champion, in the team for the 2022 global championships.
Richards’ goals for the season extend beyond the World Championships. In 2018, he won the 200m at the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast and he is aiming to travel to Birmingham, England to defend his title later this summer.
The Commonwealth Games are set to begin on July 28, just four days after the end of the World Championships but Richards believes the work he has done to prepare for the season will help him successfully navigate the hectic schedule.
“My plan is to trust in God, trust in the plan my coach has for me and just make sure that I’m healthy to get the job done,” he said.
The 28-year-old warmed up for next month’s World Championships in Budapest by shaving 0.21 seconds off the previous national mark of 19.94, set by John Regis in 1993.
His latest feat was witnessed by around 50,000 spectators at London Stadium and comes just a month after he broke Linford Christie’s 30-year-old 100m record when he ran 9.83 seconds in New York.
Yet the phenomenal time was only good enough for third place on the day as world champion Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana claimed the top two podium spots.
“I wanted to do it here on home soil and I did it,” Hughes said of the record.
“I don’t care about winning as long as I execute the plan that my coach wanted and we get the British record.
“I’ve seen some little bits I can work on – and it’s exciting for me. I’m not pressured one bit. I am enjoying myself. I can get much faster.”
Hughes previously ran 19.77 with an illegal wind speed to claim the UK 200m title in Manchester earlier this month.
He burst out of the blocks on Sunday and pushed Lyles hard before his rival moved clear on the home straight.
Hughes forecasted his time in a notebook and credited a “Kobe Bryant mentality” for his impressive recent results.
“It’s the exact time,” he said. “If you want to come around here, you can check it out.
“It depends how I am feeling and, if I know I am in good shape, I just write down a time and I use that time as a target.
“I spoke to you about that Kobe Bryant mentality. For me, I just wanted to go there and give it a great performance.”
Hughes broke away from his post-race interview to watch compatriot Dina Asher-Smith finish second in the women’s 100m, before Britain’s Jemma Reekie capped a stirring end to Sunday’s meet by clinching 800m glory.
Former 200m world champion Asher-Smith crossed the line in 10.85 seconds, 0.10sec behind Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast, while compatriot Daryll Neita finished fourth.
“I am always disappointed not to win but this shows I am building,” said Asher-Smith.
“It is all about the end of August and Budapest, which isn’t a long way away, so I am excited.
“I managed to see the end of the men’s 200m and I am so pleased for Zharnel.
“British sprinting is doing so well.”
