Fingers were starting to touch the keyboard. Intros being formulated, allusions to history made. “Matt Hudson‑Smith last night became the first Briton since Eric Liddell in 1924 to wi …” And then Quincy Hall came from the gods to have everyone pressing the delete key.
The 26-year-old American is known as an epic closer. But with 50 metres left of this Olympic men’s 400m final, we all thought he was too far back. Hudson-Smith was five or six metres ahead of him, the gold medal strides away. But then came the gut punch.
Suddenly the Briton’s legs started to tie up. Simultaneously Hall’s long, galloping strides increased in urgency and power. As they did he went from fourth, to third, to second. And, two metres from the line, to gold in 43.40sec – making him the fourth quickest 400m runner in history.
Hudson-Smith’s compensation came in the form of a silver medal and a European best of 43.44. Not that he could see things sunny side up, at least not initially. As he looked up at the screen he uttered one word repeatedly: “Fuck.”
The worst thing about it? Hudson-Smith had no idea it was coming. “I thought I had cleared the field,” he said. “But I kept trying to quicken as I knew someone was going to come. I was trying to run through the line. But he got me.
“I am not angry, I am not upset. I was like: ‘Oh, fuck it, it’s life at the end of the day.’ There is only going to be one winner. He’s the better man, he came on strong, I cannot complain. I ran the fifth-fastest time overall. I have said that if you are going to win, you are going to have to take it from me, and he did.”
By the time Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga had come to a stop after taking bronze in 43.74, Hall was already doing snow angels on the track. “I was just thinking: ‘Keep on driving. Get home, sir,’” he said. “Two of my brothers have passed, and I have two daughters, seven and two. So when I go out on the track I have a lot of reasons to run hard.”
Hudson-Smith was seeking to emulate Liddell’s story, immortalised in the 1981 Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, by winning Olympic 400m final gold.
The official report of the race noted that at one point Liddell was six to eight metres clear before “triumphing clearly by a good three metres”. Alas, 100 years on, history didn’t quite repeat itself.
Still, what a night this was for Hudson-Smith, whose life story has been part Sliding Doors, part Rocky Balboa. As a teenager in 2014 he was planning to swap a job at Asda for the army, when he got a call inviting him to the Glasgow Diamond League as a late replacement. He then shocked everyone by running 44.97 – shattering his personal best by nearly a second.
Soon he was calling Asda to tell them he wasn’t coming back, and European and Commonwealth medals quickly followed. However, his career was then ripped apart by injuries and mental health issues, starting when he tore a hamstring and achilles in 2019. At one point, in 2021, he even contemplated suicide.
“Last year I had an achilles issue,” he said. “I had mental health issues coming into 2022. This year is the first year where I have had an actual season where there has been no issues and the results are showing.”
For the past two years Hudson-Smith has been clambering towards the top of the podium one careful step at a time. It started with a world championship bronze in 2022, followed by a 2023 world silver in Budapest. Despite this result he still believes he can get there in the future.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “Honestly, sometimes the journey is better than the outcome and it has been a hell of a journey. I’m just grateful. I came away with an Olympic silver. Not many people in the world can say that. I’ve been the bridesmaid twice now. But this is just the start.”
There are reasons for optimism. Over the winter Hudson-Smith started serious gym work for the first time. And he clearly believes that Wayde van Niekerk’s world record of 43.03sec could be in striking range if he keeps improving.
“We have plans,” he said. “I saw people say that I ran too fast in the semis. I knew I could drop the time. I also know, as well, it didn’t take as much out of me as I thought. I will keep building on this. I want to shock the world, I want to shock the world. It’s a matter of time.”
He also admitted there were a lot of emotions swirling around during the lap of honour. “I saw my family. I didn’t even know they were here. It was a bit of a shock really. My mum and my dad don’t really watch because they hate it, just as I hate them watching me as well.”
Can you blame him for shedding a tear? “It has been a rough journey. Incredible high and so deep, deep lows. Man, it’s sport. It’s a crazy one. But they know what is to come. The world does as well.”
