Hudson-Smith crowns homecoming with historic 400m gold on his childhood track

A dream finish for Birmingham’s own

More than two decades on, on the track where he trained with local club Birchfield Harriers and in front of a stand that now bears his own name, the Wolverhampton-raised sprinter stormed down the home straight to rapturous cheers, just as he had countless times before as a junior, only this time with a European title on the line.

When it was won, he climbed into the crowd and placed a hand on the banner carrying his name.

The hometown hero was not going to be denied. Hudson-Smith's victory in Birmingham delivered Great Britain's latest gold of the European Championships and made the 31-year-old the joint-most decorated man in the competition's history, an eighth podium finish that equalled French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre's men's record medal tally, with the relays still to come.

How Hudson-Smith made European history

This was the third European 400m title of Hudson-Smith's illustrious career, twelve years after he claimed silver on his championship debut in 2014.

Since that first medal, he has dealt only in golds in his individual event at this level, alongside two 4x400m relay titles.

The Olympic and world silver medallist has now won five European golds, joining British greats Mo Farah and Roger Black on that mark and matching Dina Asher-Smith as the most decorated British athlete in the history of the championships.

He arrived in Birmingham as the fastest man in the field on paper; he left it with his name etched alongside the best ever to run at this level.

“Honestly, words can't describe how much that meant to me,” he told BBC Sport afterwards. “Nobody was going to beat me on this track. This is my home. I know this track like the back of my hand. I have my stand. Now I'm going to go for Mayor of Birmingham and Wolverhampton!”

“I knew I was the best in the world. I knew that, on paper, I was a second faster than every single one of these guys. It was about me and the clock.”

A golden night for Great Britain

Hudson-Smith's triumph was Great Britain's third gold of the championships, and another feelgood moment in a strong summer for British sport following England's netball Commonwealth bronze.

And he is not finished yet: with the 4x400m relays still ahead, an event in which he already owns two European titles, the man of the moment has a genuine chance to take the record outright before the week is out.