Matthew Hudson-Smith
![]() Hudson-Smith and Martyn Rooney in 2014 | |
Personal information | |
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Born | Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom | 26 October 1994
Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] |
Sport | |
Country | ![]() |
Sport | Track and field |
Event | 400 metres |
Medal record |
Matthew Hudson-Smith (born 26 October 1994) is a British track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres. He holds, as of August 2024, the British and European record, running a personal best of 43.44 seconds for the distance at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He was the 2018 European Champion in 400 metres, and a member of the gold-winning teams in the 4 x 400 metre relay at the 2014 European Athletics Championships, with Great Britain and 2014 Commonwealth Games with England.
In the summer of 2022 he won his first individual global medal, a bronze, in the 2022 World Championships, only the second British male after Roger Black to win a World Championships medal in the event. Weeks later, at his home track in Birmingham, United Kingdom he won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games representing England, before retaining his European title at the 2022 European Championships event in Munich. By retaining his 400-metre European crown, he matched the achievements of countrymen Roger Black and Martyn Rooney. He is, as of 2022, the most decorated British athlete in European Championships history, with seven medals, second overall only to French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre.
Career
[edit]Born in Wolverhampton,[2] he joined a nearby athletics club, Birchfield Harriers, in 2006. He competed in a variety of events before focusing more on the sprints from 2008 onwards. In 2010 and 2011 he mainly concentrated as a 200 metres runner. He was runner-up at the English Schools Championships over that distance in both 2011 and 2012 before finally winning the title in 2013 at the age of eighteen, after returning from a series of hamstring injuries and illness.[3] During 2012 to 2013 he studied on the AASE Apprenticeship at Loughborough College and is now a Physical Education and Sports Coaching student at the University of Worcester, allowing him to continue his education at the same time as training and competing.
That year also saw his international debut for Great Britain: he performed well at the 2013 European Athletics Junior Championships, setting a 200 m best of 20.88 seconds in the semi-finals before getting the bronze medal in a British medal sweep, behind Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake and Leon Reid.[3] He won a second bronze as part of the British 4×400 metres relay team, running the second leg.[4]
In the 2014 season, he returned to competing in the 400 m, working under his coach Tony Hadley. Coming from a personal best of 48.76 seconds at the start of the year, his new focus on the event greatly improved his times. He ran of 46.29 seconds at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Florida in April, then set a best of 45.80 seconds in Belgium in May.[3] He ran a quick race at the British Athletics Championships, but was disqualified for a lane infringement.[5]
His following race at the Glasgow Grand Prix marked a career breakthrough as he finished in the top three at the Diamond League race in a time of 44.97 seconds. This made him only the second British teenager to dip under 45 seconds for the distance and placed him second on the European rankings for the season.[6] Hudson-Smith surprised himself with the level of improvement, saying "I've no idea where that came from, no idea at all".[7] He was chosen to represent England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 4×400 m relay alongside Conrad Williams, Michael Bingham, and Daniel Awde. On his return to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games he ran the fastest split on the final leg to overhaul Trinidad and Tobago's Zwede Hewitt and hold off Olympic champion Chris Brown, winning the gold medal for the team.[8]
At the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zürich, Switzerland, Hudson-Smith won the silver medal in the individual 400 m in a time of 44.75 seconds, behind compatriot Martyn Rooney. This is despite receiving a yellow card (warning) from the officials for not being stable in the set position.[9]
In 2016, Hudson-Smith was selected for the Rio Olympics in the 400m and the 4x400m, he qualified for the final with a pb of 44.48,[10] and finished 8th in the final with a time of 44.61. He ran in the heats of the 4x400m relay, but his team were disqualified as Hudson-Smith was judged to have been outside the takeover zone when he started running to receive the baton from Delano Williams.
At the 2017 World Championships, Hudson-Smith made it to the semi-finals, however, did not qualify to the final as he finished fourth in his semi-final.[11] he won bronze as part of the men's 4x400m relay, with his teammates Dwayne Cowan, Rabah Yousif and Martyn Rooney[12]
He won gold at the 2018 European Championships in the men's 400m, winning the final with a time of 44.78, also winning silver in the men's 4x400m relay.[13]
Hudson-Smith missed the delayed 2020 Olympics through injury, but returned the next year and broke the British national record at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene clocking 44.35 seconds. He went on to win bronze at the 2022 World Championships later in the year, his first individual medal at the World Championships.[14] He won gold at the 2022 European Championships in both the men's 400m and men's 4x400m relay.[15] Also in 2022, he won the 400m at the British Athletics Championships by 1.26 seconds which was the largest winning margin in the men's 400 metres at those championships for over thirty years.
In 2023, he won the silver medal in the men's 400m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships breaking the European record in the semi-finals with a time of 44.26.[16]
Hudson-Smith opened his 2024 season with a 200m personal best of 20.39 in Florida, he was part of the British team for the 2024 World Athletics Relays, finishing sixth in the men's 4x400m final. He broke his own European record at the Bislett Games in Oslo clocking a time of 44.07.[17] He set a new personal best of 20.34 seconds in winning his first national 200 metres title at the 2024 British Athletics Championships on 30 June.[18]
Hudson-Smith lowered his European 400m record again at the Diamond League meeting in London on 20 July 2024, winning the race in a time of 43.74, improving Steven Gardiner's seven‑year‑old track record by 0.15 seconds.[19][20]
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Hudson-Smith won the silver medal in the 400m event with a time of 43.44 seconds, finishing behind gold medalist Quincy Hall, who won the race in 43.40 seconds. Hall came from behind in the final 15 meters to overtake Hudson-Smith, who had been leading most of the way.[21] Hudson-Smith's sprint is the sixth-fastest all-time, making him the fifth-fastest person in the 400m event in history, across all competitions. This marked the first time that an athlete was not able to secure the gold medal with a time under 43.75 seconds in the Olympics.[22]
Personal bests
[edit]- 400 metres – 43.44 sec (2024) – joint sixth fastest time in history.[22] The only men to run faster were all world record holders and/or Olympic champions, although Butch Reynolds was not Olympic 400m champion, his gold was in the relays.
- 200 metres – 20.34 sec (2024)
- 60 metres – 6.96 sec (2012)
National titles
[edit]- British Athletics Championships
- 400 metres: (5) 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
- 200 metres: (1) 2024
International competition record
[edit]Representing Great Britain unless otherwise stated.
References
[edit]- ^ "HUDSON-SMITH Matthew". Paris 2024 Olympics. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ Matthew Hudson-Smith. Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2014-08-03.
- ^ a b c Matthew Hudson-Smith. Power of 10. Retrieved on 2014-08-03.
- ^ "Rieti ITA 18 - 21 July 2013". european-athletics-statistics.org. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
- ^ EDEN FRANCIS LEADS THE WAY AT THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Birchfield Harries (June 2014). Retrieved on 2014-08-03.
- ^ Dick, Brian (2014-07-25). Birchfield Harriers starlet Matthew Hudson-Smith given senior Great Britain debut at European Championships in Zurich . Birmingham Mail. Retrieved on 2014-08-03.
- ^ Athletics - Williams: Glasgow dash proves I am among the sprinting elite Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Eurosport (2014-07-12). Retrieved on 2014-08-03.
- ^ Relay great final night at Glasgow 2014. Athletics Weekly (2014-08-02). Retrieved on 2014-08-03.
- ^ Martyn Rooney edges Matthew Hudson-Smith to take 400m gold. The Guardian (2014-08-15). Retrieved on 2014-08-15.
- ^ Minshull, Phil (14 August 2016). "Report: men's 400m semi-finals – Rio 2016 Olympic Games". World Athletics. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (6 August 2017). "Report: men's 400m semifinals – IAAF World Championships London 2017". World Athletics. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "4x400 Metres Relay men". 13 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Matthew HUDSON-SMITH - Athlete Profile". World Athletics.
- ^ Wilson, Steve (23 July 2022). "At last! Norman comes through to win first global 400m title". World Athletics. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Matthew HUDSON-SMITH - Athlete Profile". World Athletics.
- ^ Olus-Galadima, Yemi (25 August 2023). "Watson stuns to get 400m gold, 40 years after Cameron's triumph". World Athletics. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ Broadbent, Rick (30 May 2024). "Matthew Hudson-Smith breaks own European 400m record in Oslo". The Times. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "ASHER-SMITH, HUDSON-SMITH AND GILL AMONG OLYMPIC CONTENDERS TO LIGHT UP UK CHAMPS". British Athletics. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ "Keely Hodgkinson and Matt Hudson-Smith in record-breaking form in London". Athletics Weekly. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Hudson-Smith & Hodgkinson shine at Diamond League". BBC Sport. 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Matt Hudson-Smith Takes 400m Silver in Dramatic Final". 7 August 2024.
- ^ a b Larsson, Peter. "Men's 400m". alltime-athletics.com.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Living people
- 1994 births
- Sportspeople from Wolverhampton
- English male sprinters
- British male sprinters
- Olympic male sprinters
- Olympic athletes for Great Britain
- Alumni of the University of Worcester
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
- Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
- European Championships (multi-sport event) silver medalists
- World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain
- World Athletics Championships medalists
- European Athletics Championships winners
- British Athletics Championships winners
- Black British sportsmen
- Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain
- Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)