Florida switch brings win for Hudson-smith

This time last year, Matthew Hudson-smith was so fed up with athletics that he almost quit. Then he rolled the dice, boarded a plane to a place he barely knew in the United States and now he is European 400 metres champion.

It was four years ago that Hudson-smith, 23, burst on to the international scene, winning European silver in his first year as a 400m runner. Big things were predicted but then he began getting “stale”.

Which was why he decided to pack his bags and move to a new coach in Clermont, Florida.

As No1 in the European rankings coming into this competition, he admitted only he could stop himself from winning gold. So, he almost did after flying around the first 300m of the final like a jet engine, only to run out of gas in the closing stages. Fortunately, he had built enough of a lead to hang on for gold in 44.78sec, ahead of Belgian Borlee brothers Kevin and Jonathan.

“I’ve found my feet,” said Hudson-smith. “Last year, to be completely honest, I just didn’t care about the sport. I was pretty close to quitting. So, randomly, I packed my bags, went to America and it was the best decision I ever made.”

Britain’s medal tally in Berlin received a further boost thanks to bronzes from Meghan Beesley and Jake Wightman. Drawn in the difficult inside lane, 400m hurdler Beesley made light of her status as British No2 to beat team-mate Eilidh Doyle and finish third behind Swiss winner Lea Sprunger.

Wightman produced a scintillating late surge to snatch bronze in a 1500m won by 17-year-old Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen. His victory completed an astonishing set for the Ingebrigtsen family with Jakob following in the footsteps of brothers Henrik, who won 1500m gold in 2012, and Filip, who triumphed in 2016.