MATTHEW HUDSON-SMITH broke down in tears after he suffered Olympic 400m heartbreak as he was pipped at the post by world champion Quincy Hall despite a personal-best time.
The 29-year-old from Wolverhampton was attempting to become the first British man to win this event for Britain since Eric Liddell in Paris exactly a century ago.
Liddell, who wouldn’t run his favoured 100m in Paris because it was being held on a Sunday, was the subject of the 1981 Oscar-winning 1981 film Chariots of Fire.
But there will be no silver-screen treatment of Vangelis music for Hudson-Smith, who was beaten at the final dip by American Hall, despite having charged into the lead down the final straight.
It was the second time in successive nights that a British athlete had been edged out at the death by an American despite running the best time of their lives – following Josh Kerr in the 1,500m on Tuesday.
Hudson-Smith had also been bidding to become the first British man to win an Olympic sprint gold since Linford Christie in Barcelona in 1992
The former room-mate of newly-crowned Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles overtook Trinidad’s Jereem Richards off the final bend but Hall arrived like a train to defeat him by just 0.04secs.
Hudson-Smith’s time of 43.44sec was the fastest lap ever run by a European – but he had to content himself with a silver to go with the one he earned behind Hall at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
Hudson-Smith, who attempted suffered from depression in 2021, was later consoled in the stands by his mother Cheryl, who was seen wiping away his tears with a tissue.
Hudson-Smith said he had no idea his parents would be watching on at the Stade de France and the sight of his mum and dad in the stands came as an almighty shock.
‘I saw my family and I didn’t even know they were here!’ he added.
‘It was a bit of a shock really because I hate them watching me as well! My mum and my dad don’t really watch me because they hate it, just as much as I hate them watching me.
‘It’s crazy that they came and it’s been a hell of a journey, man.’
Hudson-Smith arrived in Paris as the fastest man in the world over one lap this year – with a previous personal best time of 43.74sec, which beat his own European record in London last month.
And the Brit had breezed to victory in his semi-final on Tuesday night, pretty much jogging the last 50m because he was so far ahead of the field.
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The omens were good and, on form, he was the favourite for gold.
Roger Black, a silver medallist in Atlanta in 1996, had been the only British man to even reach the Olympic podium in this event since the Second World War.
Hudson-Smith, a former Asda check-out man, and a pretty nifty zapper of barcodes, was in the Wolves football academy until the age of 11 – admitting that pace, rather than ball control, was his chief asset.
He thought about joining the army but turned to professional athletics – although his career had been seriously hampered by injury.
Hudson-Smith became so troubled by injury and financial worries that attempted to take his own life in 2021 – after being stuck in the United States, racking up medical bills, during lockdown.
Since those desperate times, he has truly emerged as an elite athlete, taking a bronze and silver at the last two World Championships.
It had promised to be a big night for Britain at the Stade de France, with world indoor pole-vault champion Molly Caudery well fancied – but the stick-wielder had failed to qualify for the finals in the high-bar action.
So it was down to Hudson-Smith to bring home the precious metal.
Surprisingly, this wasn’t the final race of the night with the 3,000m steeplechase, surprisingly, topping the bill – something that wouldn’t have happened in Michael Johnson’s day.
Hudson-Smith emerged with a single finger raised, aiming for the No1 spot.
Then the heartbeat soundtrack pulsated and Hudson-Smith made a fine start, seeming to time his run to perfection only for Hall to prove even more perfect still.
