The Anguilla-born British sprinter Zharnel Hughes was awestruck when he realized while running in the Diamond League meet in New York in 2015, the person running right beside him was none other than one of his heroes, Usain Bolt. At that time, Zharnel did not realise that he was running almost at a pace similar to Bolt. But when the audience saw a terrific similarity in performance between this Briton and the Jamaican speedster, everyone felt it was something to do with the way they were trained. And their assumption was right. Zharnel is trained by the same coach who trained Bolt. So, let us take a look at the coach whose training has given the world two of its fastest runners.
Meet Glen Mills: Zharnel Hughes’ Coach
Born in Jamaica on August 14, 1949, Glen Mills discovered his true calling early. By 14, he realized his future wasn’t on the track but beside it, trading his own athletic dreams for a whistle and stopwatch. That decision ignited a coaching career that would reshape sprinting history. Fueled by relentless determination, Mills founded Kingston’s Racers Track Club in the 1980s, a space that gave various prominent athletes to the world. Under his guidance, many athletes smashed records and won 71 World Championships and 33 Olympic medals. But one name that needs a special mention is Usain Bolt, who got 19 medals alone. But do you know how Bolt met Mills?
Bolt was disappointed after his performance in the 2004 Athens Olympics when he stumbled into Mills. While Bolt himself might have never pictured himself as the fastest sprinter, it was the Jamaican coach who saw a raw diamond that needed to be polished. Thus, for over two relentless years, Mills rewired Bolt’s chaotic sprinting DNA, replacing frantic effort with his game-changing methods. He taught Bolt to shed tension and helped him in unlocking an unprecedented speed. The results were seismic: a 9.69-second 100m in Beijing, followed by an astonishing 9.58 in 2009. With Bolt smashing the records, Mills also rose to fame for being a coach who creates champions, Hughes being one of them. Now, before we talk about Hughes and Mills’ relationship, let us take a closer look at Mills’ career, which motivated Hughes to be his trainee.
Glen Mills’ Career Highlights and Achievements
Mill joined a sprinting team at Camperdown High School at the age of 13. But failing to give a satisfactory performance, he gave up the idea of being a sprinter. However, his interest in the field garnered the interest of his high school coach, Henry McDonald Messam, who trained Gell and also helped him get a coaching job for younger track-and-field athletes. After this Mill never had to look back.
He coached the Jamaican National Team for over 20 years, leading the Caribbean island to global dominance in sprinting events. He also holds a diploma in sprinting from the International Olympic Committee Centre in Mexico in the 1970s. His Racers Track Club which was re-launched in 2009, became the powerhouse of the elite sprinters. Some others trained in his camp are Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, Raymond Stewart, and many others. His exceptional contribution to the sport got him the award of the Order of Distinction (Commander Class) by the Jamaican government. While on the other hand, despite his grumpy behavior with his pupils, he is called the messiah of sprint coaching.
Is Zharnel Hughes the Next Usain Bolt?
While the exact time when Hughes joined Mills is not confirmed, we know that after the British sprinter smashed a 30-year record of Linford Christie by clocking 9.83 in men’s 100m at the New York City Grand Prix 2023, Mills started comparing him with his favorite student, Bolt.
In an interview, Hughes said that Mills compares him with Bolt sometimes and says, ‘I see similar traits in you than what I see in Usain.’ Since Hughes has a shorter height, his frequency is a bit faster, yet the coach sees many similar attributes between them. Fast-forward to today, Hughes has racked up medals on the global stage and is now all set to win one at the Grand Slam Track.
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