ZHARNEL Hughes of Kingston College placed his name in the record books at the 104th staging of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships when he stopped the clock at 10.12 seconds in the Boys’ Class One 100-metre final at the National Stadium on Friday.

On a day when three records were broken, Hughes ensured that he was in the mix when he pulled down the seven-year-old mark of 10.21 seconds set by Yohan Blake in 2007. He won ahead of Bog Walk’s Jevaughn Minzie who achieved a new personal best of 10.16 seconds, with Raheem Robinson of Wolmer’s finishing third in a time of 10.32 seconds.

Hughes got a decent start, but was behind the fast-stepping Minzie for the first 70 metres before producing a blistering burst to get by his opponent to send the crowd into a frenzy.

The 18-year-old Hughes, speaking to the media after his sizzling run, outlined that his record-breaking effort was the result of a well-executed race.

“I feel good about my performance, my execution was amazing and I am thankful that I got the win,” he said.

The lanky athlete of Anguilla, who was awarded a scholarship to attend the IAAF’s Regional High Performance Training Centre in Jamaica, explained that he had no intention of going for the record and was surprised about the time.

“I wasn’t going for the record, I was just thinking about winning, but I was pretty sure that if I executed my race properly, then the record would come. I am surprised by the time… very surprised; 10.12 is a great thing,” he said after his blistering run.

Hughes had earlier clocked 10.72 seconds in the preliminaries and then returned a day after to easily dispose of the competition in his semi-final heat in 10.68 seconds. He was also favoured to win the Boys’ Class One 200 metres as well, but unfortunately was unable to compete due to injury.

The double bronze medal winner at previous CARIFTA Games will now turn his attention on representing his home country at the upcoming CARIFTA Games set for April 19-21.