Matt Hudson-Smith wins 400m bronze, Sydney McLaughlin demolishes 400m hurdles record at World Athletics Championships

ByJames Hilsum

Updated 23/07/2022 at 08:20 GMT

There was more progress for the British contingent, as Great Britain's Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson won her 800m semi-final with a time of 1:58.51. More British medal prospects are in the women’s 4x100m relay, after Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Ashleigh Nelson and Daryll Neita made their way into the final by winning their heat in a time of 41.99.

Matt Hudson-Smith won bronze in the 400m at the World Athletics Championships medal in Eugene, while Sydney McLaughlin obliterated her own 400m hurdles world record.

Hudson-Smith held his nerve to hold off USA champion Allison and South Africa’s world record holder Wayde van Niekerk to finish third and clock 44.66s.

American Michael Norman took home gold in a time of 44.29s, while Grenada’s Kirani James won the silver medal.

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"This is just the beginning," Hudson-Smith told BBC Sport.

"I don't think I have scratched the surface, if anything. I have got a monkey off my back getting a world medal. Now I push on from here."

It was the fourth medal in a successful world championships for Great Britain, following on from Jake Wightman’s 1500m gold and bronze medals for Laura Muir and Dina Asher-Smith over 1500m and 200m respectively.

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Meanwhile, it was a record-breaking day for McLaughlin, who won the 400m hurdles in style. She added the world title to her Olympic gold medal and managed to break her own record.

She won with a time of 50.68s, obliterating her own record of 51.41swhich she set last month.

It was the third time McLaughlin had broken the senior world record in the last 12 months, and follows on from a stellar start to her career at junior level.

‘The world record has been blown away!’ - McLaughlin storms to 400m hurdle gold

The New Jersey native holds the world record in the 400m hurdles at every age between 14 and 19. Additionally, she has registered the fastest-ever time by an U20 athlete at 52.75s - a time so impressive that no other athlete has managed to get within 1.5 seconds of that.

McLaughlin was seen sitting on the track for an extended period of time after the race and said: “I was just trying to process the lactic acid, and I was taking a moment to enjoy what had happened,” in quotes published by worldathletics.org.

“I think there’s always more to improve upon. There’s always more than can be shaven off, for sure. There’s no such thing as a perfect race, but I don’t think that was a super-clean race.”

Elsewhere, Shaunae Miller-Uibo claimed gold in the women’s 400m, as the Bahamas runner won a previously elusive world title after missing out in her five previous World Championship finals.

The double Olympic champion won with a time of 49.11s – half a second ahead of the Dominican Republic’s Marileidy Paulino, while Sara Williams of Barbados took bronze.

There was more progress for the British contingent, as Great Britain's Olympic silver medallist Keely Hodgkinson won her 800m semi-final in 1:58.51.

But it was not such good news for Jemma Reekie, who bowed out at the semi-final stage with a fifth-place finish in a heat won by Mary Moraa of Kenya.

Hodgkinson will battle it out for gold with Moraa and American Athing Mu in the early hours of Monday morning.

More British medal prospects are in the women’s 4x100m relay, after Asha Philip, Imani Lansiquot, Ashleigh Nelson and Daryll Neita made their way into the final by winning their heat in a time of 41.99.

Dina Asher-Smith will be added to the team for the final, which takes place in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Great Britain’s men’s team have also made it through to the final, but will face a formidable United States team that includes Noah Lyles, Christian Coleman and Marvin Bracy.

The USA qualified fastest in 37.87, while Great Britain were seventh quickest in 38.49.

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