World 400m bronze medallist Matt Hudson-Smith "ready for more" and trying to stay calm after breakthrough year
After making the podium in Eugene, the British one-lap specialist revealed that he attempted suicide last year following injury and mental health struggles. The newly-crowned two-time individual European champion told Olympics.com about his recovery and a stellar season.
Athletics
In the space of a year, Matt Hudson-Smith has risen from desperate lows to become the first British athlete to win three major individual medals at three different outdoor championships in the same season.
After winning bronze at the Eugene World Championships and silver at the Commonwealth Games on home soil in Birmingham, the 27-year-old retained his European 400m title in Munich to cap a superb campaign in which he also broke Iwan Thomas' 25-year-old one-lap British record.
What makes his achievements all the more remarkable is that he missed last year's Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games due to injury and mental health issues, revealing after he won bronze in Eugene that he had attempted suicide.
He told Olympics.com in Munich, "It has just been crazy, crazy events over the last three years. And now that we're here, words can't describe it.
"It’s just a journey. I’m back to my old self and I'm starting to believe everything again. The confidence and the belief that I belong and belief that I'm one of the best."
Hudson-Smith appreciative of response to depression revelation
After winning relay golds at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and European Championships while still a teenager, Wolverhampton-born Hudson-Smith reached the Rio 2016 Olympic final where he finished eighth behind Wayde van Niekerk's world record run.
A year later, he chose to move from Birmingham to the United States in order to try and make the step up to medals in global competitions.
But, as he told reporters after taking bronze behind USA’s Michael Norman and Kirani James of Grenada in Eugene, things did not go to plan.
In 2019, he battled hamstring, Achilles and hip injuries, lost his sponsorship and accumulated huge debts due to not having American health insurance.
Then came the pandemic where he was stuck in the United States despite wanting to return home to his family, a time he described as "absolute hell".
He said, “I had huge mental health issues in 2021. Not a lot of people know this, but I literally attempted suicide."
The reaction to his revelations has been overwhelmingly positive, something Hudson-Smith is grateful for.
He told Olympics.com, “To be honest, I think at the time I was awash with like a wave of emotions, and I didn't expect it to be as big as it was. It's nice that a lot of people are coming forward, I just thought it was like a passing comment.
“It’s a story that a lot of people have gone through. Weirdly enough, I used to think not a lot of people would relate to it, but I think it relates to a lot of people and whether you're going through a tough time, there's always light at the end of the tunnel.”
Hudson-Smith works on "being even-keeled"
After winning individual gold in Munich, Hudson-Smith ran a superb lead-off leg as Britain claimed the 4x400m relay title.
Now he can look forward to next year's World Championships in Budapest and then a second Olympic Games at Paris 2024.
He added, “As long as you just stick for it anything can happen, you just have to believe and keep fighting the good fight. If you just fight the fight, and you just keep the belief and you go through the rough patches, when you come out of it, you'll come out like a new person and you'll be stronger because of it.
“As my coach and mentor (Beijing 2008 400m gold medallist) Christine Ohuruogu says, you have the highs and you have the lows. But sometimes the best is to be even-keeled. Because being even-keeled makes you likely to perform better, because you don't want to be too up, you just want to be in the middle where you can perform to the best of your ability. And once it's over and done with, reflect and enjoy the moment.”
First though, before savouring the success over 25 days when he won three medals across three outdoor champs, the history maker has one more event left on his season calendar.
“I am going to finish the season with the Diamond League Final. It's push to collect more medals, do one better and get the times that I expect or pushing for and create my legacy."