byStuart Weir
This is Stuart Weir’s piece on Matthew Hudson-Smith, who had an absolutely nightmere start to his year of 2018. Matthew Hudson-Smith overcame that Commonwealth nightmere and has won the 400m title in Berlin. Stuart Weir also reveals a hobby that Matthew Hudson-Smith has that is, well, quite legal.
Matthew Hudson-Smith – European champion
2018 is finishing better for Matthew Hudson-Smith than it began. At the Commonwealth Games in April, Matthew Hudson-Smith was disqualified in the individual 400m and pulled up injured in the relay. Now he is European champion with still the relay to go..
Matthew Hudson-Smith, photo by PhotoRun.net
In 2014, he was Commonwealth Champion and second in the Europeans in the 400m but then a serious injury delayed his progress, although he made it to the 2016 Olympics. In Rio he ran the two fastest races of his life for 8th place in the Olympic final, but was then part of the relay squad controversially disqualified. He summed up his times in Rio: “It was definitely a learning experience and something I’ll never forget, particularly coming back from 2015 when I was injured. To get to the Olympic final was very unexpected and a big learning curve”. At the 2017 World Championships he went out in the semis, then then there was the Commonwealths…
Going into the 2018 Championships with the European lead time made him favorite but, of course, added the pressure to deliver. In the final he went out fast and seemed to have the race won by the half-way stage but then found himself running through treacle over the past 50 meters but managed to hold off the Borlée brothers.
Hudson-Smith summed up his race afterwards: “Oh my god. I got to the last 50m and my legs had gone! That was crazy; I will never do that again. It feels amazing, but oh my god that lactic – it hurt. But a win’s a win and I’m just happy I got it”.
Responding to expressions of disappointment that he did not break the GB record, he added: “For me personally, it was about the win. The record is going to come. It’s just a matter of time. It’s not an ‘if’ it’s a ‘when’. And I did push for it but I wanted the victory more and I got that. It’s all that matters. I paid for the semi-final a little by today but it proved there’s a big time in there – everyone knows I can do it. I got the victory, the first title, at end of the day, I said before the race if I ran 48 or 42, I just want the win; titles mean more to me than times”.
If he remains fit, there should a few more medals and that British record to come. Finally I am sure you wanted to know that as a hobby Matt collects football shirts.
Finish line photo, European Championships, Men’s 400 meters, courtesy of Berlin 2018/European Athletics
