Team GB star pulls out of event at the last minute as nightmare Olympic Games continues

A Team GB star has pulled out of an event at the last minute as his nightmare Olympic Games continues.

British sprinter Zharnel Hughes was due to compete in the 200 metre heats on Monday evening, but he has pulled out of the event due to hamstring tightness.

The 29-year-old suffered a torn hamstring just a month before the start of the Games in Paris, throwing his participation into doubt.

Hughes managed to recover in time for the 100m event, but he failed to qualify for the final after only managing a sixth-place finish in the semi-final with a time of 10.01 seconds.

Just a year ago he took bronze in the 100m at the World Championships.

A British Athletics statement read: "Zharnel Hughes has withdrawn from the 200m heats tonight due to a hamstring tightness which requires monitoring for the next 48 hours.

"No decision has been taken as yet in relation to his relay involvement."

Hughes Olympic Games isn't necessarily over, but he faces a race against time to be fit for the 4x100m relay heats on Thursday.

Hughes has tasted Olympic heartbreak before, having false-started in the 100m final at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

After his 100m event ended in disappointment on Sunday, Hughes said on his injury: "[It was] just last month, it's not the easiest thing to come back from, especially what I had.

"I had a grade two [tear] on the outside of the hamstring, so obviously not getting me enough races to get me in race shape was my issue."

Hughes missed the European and British Championships after picking up his hamstring injury, but was given a discretionary place for Paris and was feeling confident.

In 2022 Hughes secured gold in the European Championships 200m and silver in the 100m.