Matthew Hudson-Smith at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Birmingham (© Getty Images)
Britain’s newly crowned European 400m champion Matt Hudson-Smith is the next world-class athlete to have confirmed his attendance in Birmingham at next Saturday’s Muller Grand Prix, the next stop in the IAAF Diamond League.
Hudson-Smith hinted at his potential for breaking the national 400m record of 44.36 in the semifinals of the European Championships, when he significantly eased down during the closing stages and clocked 44.76.
The Olympic finalist almost replicated that time in the final, securing the gold medal with 44.78. He now turns his attention to Birmingham, where he will take on Commonwealth champion Isaac Makwala of Botswana, USA’s Fred Kerley, world and Olympic triple jump champion Christian Taylor who continues to impress in the one-lap sprint, and world bronze medallist Abdalelah Haroun of Qatar.
Haroun ran a PB of 44.07 at last month’s IAAF Diamond League meeting in London. With the times that he, Makwala (43.72) and Fred Kerley (43.70) are capable of, it is plausible that the British record could well fall on home soil in Birmingham.
“The record is going to come,” said Hudson-Smith. “It’s just a matter of time. It’s not an 'if', it's ‘when’. Everyone knows I can do it.”
Hudson-Smith will be joined in Birmingham by fellow European Championships medal winners Dina Asher-Smith, Zharnel Hughes, Reece Prescod and Holly Bradshaw.
Organisers for the IAAF
