BACK FROM THE BRINK
GB bronze hero Hudson-Smith reveals he made suicide attempt in 2021
MATT HUDSON-SMITH won Britain’s fourth medal of the World Championships – then shockingly revealed that he attempted suicide a year ago.
The softly spoken Brummie dropped the bombshell after taking bronze in the men’s 400m, on the biggest day of his sporting life.
“It’s been tough, man. It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” said the first British male quarter-miler since Roger Black 31 years ago to win an individual world medal.
“In 2019 I tore my Achilles, tore my hamstring, messed up my hip; 2020 was Covid; huge mental health issues in 2021.
“Yeah. Not a lot of people know this, but I literally attempted suicide.” The
Florida-based star was not finished talking. Having kept his emotion in check through three rounds he now wanted it all off his chest.
“I was racing knowing I was hurt all the time,” he continued.
“Going to races knowing I wasn’t 100 percent. I couldn’t do the Olympics for several reasons.
“I lost my sponsorship, didn’t have medical insurance in America and got a huge debt. I applied for and was denied my Green Card.
“Losing people like coach Lloyd Cowan, who was a huge influence in my life, and [former GB boss] Neil Black, who was always there for me.
“Imagine stepping on the line knowing you’re hurt.
“You have a whole load of pressure, because everyone expects a lot from you. And you expect a lot from yourself as well.
“I talked to a lot of people about not doing the sport at all, about becoming an electrician… and now I’ve got this medal.”
Hudson-Smith reached for the piece of metal hanging round his neck and it seemed to snap him out of the moment, taking him from a difficult past to a present he had put himself through so much to achieve.
Kirani James – London 2012 Olympic champion but silver medallist here with 44.48sec behind new champion Michael Norman (44.29sec) – passed by and patted him on the back.
Still Hudson-Smith did not seem quite able to believe what he had achieved, the one-time Asda shelf stacker who burst onto the scene in 2014 when Army life had seemed to be his only option.
The 27-year old, who has cleared his debts since getting picked up by Puma, will know it is true when he heads to his hometown Commonwealth Games next week, perhaps passing the supermarket in which he used to stack shelves en route to rapturous acclaim.
Sydney McLaughlin took the extraordinary to a whole new level, obliterating her own 400m hurdles world record by a massive 0.73secs.
It was the fourth time in 13 months she had lowered the mark, dropping it from 52.16sec to 50.68sec, and it earned her an £83,000 bonus.
To put that time in some context, Victoria Ohuruogu, Britain’s fastest 400m female runner on the FLAT, has not run that quick this year.