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Matthew Hudson-Smith is relishing the opportunity to gain revenge over Quincy Hall after coming off second-best to the American in a thrilling Olympic men’s 400m final.
Hudson-Smith was on course to become Great Britain’s third male winner of this event and first since Eric Liddell 100 years ago as he led with 50m to go in the Stade de France on Wednesday night.
But Hall’s lung-bursting finish saw him triumph by the razor-thin margin of four hundredths of a second and Hudson-Smith already has his sights set on payback after being bumped into silver once more.
Hudson-Smith, who finished runner-up to Jamaica’s Anthony Watson at last year’s World Championships, told the PA news agency: “It’s sport. There’s heartache and agony.
“He’s a great competitor and on the day he was the better man but my time’s going to come. I’m going to get my get back. There’s going to be many races and battles between me and Quincy.
“This is just the start. I’m eyeing everything. As long as I’m healthy, I’m one of the best in the world and I’m just going to keep battling.”
Having come back from rock-bottom – amid mounting problems, he attempted suicide in 2021 – Hudson-Smith is proud of becoming Britain’s first male medallist in the event since Roger Black 28 years ago.
He came within a whisker of emulating Liddell, whose gold medal win at Paris 1924 was chronicled in the 1981 Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, but Hudson-Smith knows he is in elite company.
“It feels absolutely crazy to be an Olympic medallist – it’s the one per cent of the one per cent,” he said. “It’s a great feeling, I’m really, really grateful that I achieved such a crazy feat.
“I’m up there with the greatest like Eric Liddell and Roger Black, these are the goats (greatest of all-time) of British 400-metre running. I’m just proud to have my name alongside them.”
While Hudson-Smith is grateful for the work his entire team have put in, he had a special mention for mentor Christine Ohuruogu, the last British winner at the distance at Beijing 2008.
“No one gives you a manual in how to handle this crazy, crazy sport and having people such as herself who has won the Olympics and multiple world medals is a great person to have in your corner,” Hudson-Smith added.
