Matt Hudson-Smith has never had it easy, on the track or off. Even in his first race, aged 10, he was leading with 30 metres to go, only to suddenly see his mum, stop, and watch in horror as everyone flew past him. A few years ago he described it as the worst race of his life.
There have been plenty of tests for Hudson-Smith in the 18 years since. Yet it has all been worth it for nights like this in Budapest, where the Briton defied injury to run the greatest race of his life and win a 400m world championship silver medal.
Yet, as he conceded afterwards, gold was just a whisker or two away – until those last 30 metres came back to haunt him again. “I came here looking for gold,” he said. “But I’ve had achilles tendinitis really badly. That’s why I’ve been pulling up, that’s why I’ve been in a wheelchair when I raced in London. My achilles has been mashed-up bad.
“This has been like a mental battle. I came for the gold, tied up in the last 30 metres but under the circumstances I can’t complain.”
Hudson-Smith made his intentions clear from the gun and held a significant lead at halfway. At this point only the former Olympic and world champion Kirani James was with him, but he eventually fell away.
The 28-year-old Briton was still leading well into the home straight, but all around him challenges were beginning to mount. And as Hudson-Smith’s engine finally began to empty, Jamaica’s Antonio Watson squeezed past him to win in 44.22sec. Hudson-Smith was second in 44.31, with Quincy Hall of the USA claiming bronze in a personal best 44.37.
“It was stiff this morning,” Hudson-Smith said of his achilles. “Even on the line, there was a mental battle. It wasn’t the best. But you just have to push through it. It was do or die. I tried to find a gear but that’s what happens when you don’t really have races. He then explained how his injury had come about in the Rabat Diamond League in May. “Everyone thought I’d torn my achilles and then I got scanned in the UK, went to Germany, it was really bad.
“Even the doctor [Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt] swore. I’ve never seen a doctor be like, ‘oh’. And I said: ‘You’ll fix it?’ And he was like: ‘Oh shit.’
“They got me to the start line. I’ve been frustrated. They said you only need to be perfect for three days. I was almost perfect.”
Yet when the dust settles Hudson-Smith will surely be proud of another world medal to follow his bronze in Eugene last year – as well as the journey he has taken since winning a silver medal as a teenager at the 2014 European Championships. After that many expected him to soar into the sporting stratosphere. Instead, he tumbled into a darkening abyss.
In 2019, he tore his hamstring and his achilles. In 2020, he racked up huge medical debts in the US and saw his mental health issues worsen. Last year, he admitted that things had got so bad he had contemplated suicide. Sometimes winning doesn’t mean standing on the highest step of the podium.
“You are never satisfied, you’re always going to want more,” he said. “I look back and go, ‘What if?’ I’m grateful but I know there’s more.”
However Hudson-Smith is convinced he can go one better at the Paris Olympics. “Next year, we’ve got big plans,” he said. “I’ve just got to stay healthy. Once I’m there, it will be 43 seconds and gold medals.”
Meanwhile the performance of the night came from the Dutch athlete Femke Bol, who produced a storming last 200m to take 400m hurdles gold in 51.70. There may not be a more popular winner this week, especially given that Bol tripped within metres of the line when in gold medal position in the mixed 4x400m relay last Saturday.
