Matthew Hudson-Smith

Career Born in Wolverhampton, 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. 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.

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.

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. Hudson-Smith surprised himself with the level of improvement, saying "I've no idea where that came from, no idea at all". 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.

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.

In 2016, Hudson-Smith was selected for the Rio Olympics in the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m. In the 400 m, he qualified for the final with a personal best of 44.48, and finished 8th in the final with a time of 44.61. He ran in the heats of the 4 × 400 m 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 of the 400 m, however, did not qualify to the final as he finished fourth in his semi-final. He won bronze as part of the men's 4 × 400 m relay, with his teammates Dwayne Cowan, Rabah Yousif and Martyn Rooney

Prior to the 2018 season, he moved to Florida and started working with Coach Lance Brauman and the PureAthletics camp which also featured the likes of Noah Lyles and Shaunae Miller-Uibo. He won gold at the 2018 European Championships in the men's 400 m, winning the final with a time of 44.78, also winning silver in the men's 4 × 400 m relay. He won gold at the 2022 European Championships in both the men's 400 m and men's 4 × 400 m relay.

Hudson-Smith opened his 2024 season with a 200 m 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 4 × 400 m final. He broke his own European record at the Bislett Games in Oslo clocking a time of 44.07. 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.

Hudson-Smith lowered his European 400 m 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 sevenyearold track record by 0.15 seconds with the fastest 400 m time ever seen on British soil.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Hudson-Smith won the silver medal in the 400 m 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. Hudson-Smith's sprint is the sixth-fastest all-time, making him the fifth-fastest person in the 400 m 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. Hudson-Smith led his team through the 4 × 400 m heats to a place in the final and to a bronze medal, producing a split of 43.09 in the final which at the time was the fourth fastest 4 × 400 m relay split in history.

In October 2024, it was announced that he had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track. He won the 200 metres and came second in the 400 metres at the opening event in Kingston, Jamaica, in April 2025, becoming the competition's first men's long-sprints champion and claiming a $100,000 prize.

On 12 August 2026, Hudson-Smith won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the European Championships in Birmingham. This was his third European outdoor title and seventh medal at the event making him the joint-most decorated man of all-time at the Championships.

Personal bests 400 metres – 43.44 sec (2024) – sixth fastest time in history. 200 metres – 20.34 sec (2024) 60 metres – 6.96 sec (2012)

National titles British Athletics Championships 400 metres: (5) 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 200 metres: (1) 2024

Circuit performances

International competition record Representing unless otherwise stated.

Personal life Hudson-Smith married Antonia Tyson at a ceremony in Birmingham, England, on 29 September 2024, with guests at the event including Dina Asher-Smith and Noah Lyles. He subsequently moved to live in the USA.