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14 hours ago
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Stand … and deliver. On a balmy night in Birmingham, Matt Hudson-Smith powered past the stand bearing his name at the Alexander Stadium and into history by becoming the first man to win three European Championship 400m titles.
And afterwards, as the adrenaline flooded his body and he posed wearing a crown in front of the Matthew Hudson-Smith Stand, the 31-year-old made it clear just how much it meant. “Nobody is going to beat me on this track,” he said. “This is my home. I have been here since I was nine. I know this track like the back of my hand.”
Born in Wolverhampton. Made in Birmingham. Forged in the fire of competition. But this wasn’t the easiest of wins given that Hudson-Smith started in lane nine, which meant he was blind to the challengers inside him.
No wonder that when the starting gun went off, he went off like a man sprinting for the last bus of the night. And while he began to tie up in the final 70 metres, he easily had enough to win in 44.17sec.
“I knew it would take one hell of an effort to get past me,” said Hudson-Smith. “Every time someone beats me, I kind of end their career. I knew that for them to beat me, they would have to have a supernatural moment.”
Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, of France, took silver in 44.40, while Jonas Phijffers of the Netherlands took bronze, a hundredth of a second further back, in a new national record.
They were happy with their spoils. But no one was more ecstatic than Hudson-Smith, although there was a slight edge to his celebrations, as he took a dig at the BBC afterwards for suggesting he might be carrying an injury.
“You guys need to come with the facts, man,” he said. “Saying I was injured and everything. The whole point of rounds is to survive and advance. I tried to conserve in the rounds.
“Me and my coach were laughing all the way around. I knew I was the best in the world. I knew that. On paper, I was a second faster than these guys.
My coach said: ‘Once you seal the deal, make sure you do it,’” he added. “This is your home. Defend it.”
The only disappointment was that the stand named after him was not packed to the rafters to celebrate his triumph. There has been a lot of talk about prices being too high. However, it is not as simple as that given that most of the £110 Category A seats in the main stand were sold out.
It has been the cheaper tickets, some of which have been priced as low as £40 and £20, that have struggled to sell out.
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There are many reasons for that. The stadium is out of town. It is not easy to park nearby. There is a cost of living crisis and, in fairness to the organisers, the last four days of competition are said to be sell-outs. Who can blame people for waiting for the end of the week when there are more finals? European Athletics says 80% of tickets – about 200,000 in total – have now been sold and it is expecting big crowds for the last few days. But there is perhaps another factor for that figure not being higher.
The last four European championships have been staged in Rome, Munich, Berlin and Amsterdam. These are cities where it is easy to combine a city break with sport, art and culture. Birmingham just doesn’t pack that punch. As one press box wag put it, Rome has the Colosseum, Birmingham has the Bullring.
“Naturally, we would love to see a full stadium for every session, because nothing compares with the energy of a packed Alexander Stadium and the support it gives to the athletes,” European Athletics said in a statement. “We are very pleased that demand for tickets to the second half of the championships is strong.”
There was a second British success of the night as Emily Newnham came through with a late charge to take silver in the women’s 400m hurdles.
The favourite, Emma Zapletalova of Slovakia won comfortably in 52.91 sec, but Newnham went from fourth over the final hurdle to second by running a personal best of 53.33. Fatoumata Binta Diallo set a national record for Portugal of 53.55 for bronze.
Afterwards, Newnham dedicated her win to her mother, who has been undergoing health issues. “Mum, I love you so much,” she added. “You’re my inspiration this year. Keep fighting – you’ve got this.”
