UK Athletics Championships 2024: Louie Hinchliffe wins 100m title to secure Olympic debut

Neither Hinchliffe or his coach, nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis, could have seen this coming.

But on a miserable Saturday night in Manchester, amid relentless rain and an unseasonal chill, the Sheffield-born athlete wrote the latest chapter of his sporting fairytale.

Hindered by injury and having admittedly not taken his training too seriously as a first-year university student in the UK, Hinchliffe sought the guidance of athletics icon Lewis, who coaches at the University of Houston, last August.

The rapid progress he has made in the 10 months since then has been nothing short of remarkable – and, as he blazed his way down the rain-lashed track, it could not have been timed any better.

Hinchliffe announced himself as a genuine contender for Paris qualification after following up a statement wind-assisted time of 9.84secs in May by shattering the 10-second barrier for the first time in legal conditions to win the prestigious NCAA title.

The ambitious target set by Lewis during their first phone call last August was to put Hinchliffe in contention for a place on the Olympic relay team – but once again he exceeded all expectations to make his once unlikely dream a reality.

Unfazed by the enormity of the opportunity, back competing in front of his home fans, Hinchliffe overhauled Azu – himself crowned champion as a 21-year-old two years ago, in the closing stages.

They will join Zharnel Hughes in Paris, with the world bronze medallist already assured of an Olympic 100m place but absent from the championships with a hamstring injury.