Support truly
independent journalism
Matt Hudson-Smith claimed Olympic silver in a breathtaking 400m but it proved to be another agonising close miss in the Briton’s pursuit of gold on the world stage.
A storming run from Quincy Hall secured the gold for USA with the American coming home like a train as he charged down the final 100m to catch the Briton.
Hudson-Smith had held off Jereem Richards while coming off the bend, but Hall seized victory by just four-hundredths of a second in 43.40 seconds, the fourth-fastest time in history.
Hudson-Smith, who was nine-hundredths of a second away from world gold 12 months ago in Budapest, bettered his own European record in 43.44 seconds, ranking him fifth all-time to come home ahead of Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga in bronze.
“It’s been a hell of a journey and I’m grateful,” an emotional yet defiant Hudson-Smith told the BBC. “Olympic silver? Not many can say that. Bridesmaid twice now!
“I saw my family, I didn’t even know they were here! Bit of a shocker really, I hate them watching me! So it’s crazy they came and it’ss been a hell of a journey. We knew it would come down from the 50, he had another gear, I hit it a little bit too late.
“But this is just the start, my time is going to come. I thought I’d cleared the field, I knew someone was going to come but I wasn’t trying to ease up and he got me on the line, it happens. It’s been crazy, I’ve just got to keep building on it.”
It was Great Britain’s first medal in the event since Roger Black took silver at Atlanta 1996.
But the anguish on his face, while screaming an expletive in frustration as he stumbled over the line, illustrates the lofty expectations the 29-year-old held entering Paris 2024.
The Great Britain star has endured a career packed with crushing injuries and mental health problems, even revealing he attempted to take his own life after the Covid pandemic.
But after overcoming “absolute hell”, he entered Paris 2024 on a roll and with newfound belief. A first major medal with World Championship bronze in 2022 was upgraded to silver 12 months later.
But having smashed his own European record in 43.74 seconds last month at the London Diamond League, securing the world lead in the process, it felt like Hudson-Smith’s time in Paris.
But the fifth-fastest time in history proved too much to overcome, with Hall bridging a gap of around six metres, timing his move perfectly as the lactate sapped the spring in Hudson-Smith’s legs as he sensed his moment.
