in Paris Olympic 400m final, Matt Hudson-Smith battled to the line, finishing 0.04 seconds behind Quincy Hall. His 43.44 was the sixth-fastest 400m ever, but is worth just one Olympic silver. So close and yet so far. Note that 4 of the 5 fastest men were Olympic champions (Wade van Niekerk, Michael Johnson, Butch Reynolds and Hall).
Then he said: “It was crazy. Sometimes the journey is better than the result and that was one hell of a ride. I’m just thankful. I have an Olympic silver medal and how many people can say that? I’ve been a bridesmaid a few times now, but my time is coming. I’m just happy and thankful.”
“I ran exactly as my coach told me. We knew it was going to come down to the last 50 and I thought I had it, but Quincy had an extra gear. I hit the gear a little late. When we got up he made a move on me and that was it. I thought I’d clear the field. I knew someone was going to run. on the line, it happens.”
I have had the privilege of being in the stadium for all the races of his great career world championship silver in Budapest and bronze in Eugene; two European golds and one silver; Commonwealth silver; and: Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth relay medals.
Reflecting on his early career in a chat with GB track and field writers this month, he recalled reaching the finals. 2016 Olympics and the latest, and: reach the semi-finals ninth fastest, 8 qualified for finals 2017 Worlds. “In 2016, when I went to the Olympics, I made it to the finals, and I was looking around and saying, “What do I have to do to compete against these guys?” Everyone lived in America, and I said: “Okay, I’ve stayed here (England’s Midlands) since I was 10, but I’ve got to change and I’ve got to like grow as a person, I’ve got to train with these guys because I’ve got to see what they’re all about. So that was like the whole decision, and to be honest with you, I never really wanted to leave England.”
He also spoke of his disappointment after finishing sixth in last year’s World Championships semi-final in Tokyo in 44.95, revealing his history for the first time. “The world revolved around my daughter Eden’s birth. So I had a lot. My wife didn’t have the easiest births and I was running back and forth, I missed GB tests because of it, I got a medical release, and then I was sleeping on a hospital bed, so it wasn’t really the most comfortable experience, and then three days later I went to the litter from that whole stressful environment. While there, and I miss like a good month of Eden’s life, it was really stressful in the beginning and then, yeah, it was quite a whirlwind, really, during that time.”
He was pleased with his season-opening runner-up 44.25 in Rabat, especially after injury and “a terrible winter, because now you’re dealing with a little person. Hence the lack of sleep and constant fatigue. It’s a different kind of exhaustion than when you’re little and you’re just sleeping for hours, but you want this person to get some sleep, and you want this person to get some sleep, and you want this person to be a terrible Daddy, so that was a new thing to juggle, but we’ve been able to do it now, and maybe the power of Daddy can be a real thing.”
The big event for Matt this summer is the European Championships in Birmingham (Picky Flinders, not Alabama), August 10-16. And Matt wants to show people he’s grown up with what he’s learned in the past 9 years living in the US.
