BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) 鈥� Matthew Hudson-Smith willed himself down the final straightaway on his home track to win his third European championships 400-meters gold medal on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old British star went out fast, held a big lead around the final bend and crossed the line in 44.17 seconds as France’s Muhammad Abdallah Kounta (silver) and Jonas Phijffers (bronze) of the Netherlands closed in.
Hudson-Smith, who also won the 400 at the 2018 and 2022 editions, has trained at Alexander Stadium since his youth and has a section of the stands named after him.
鈥淚鈥檝e been here since I was 9 years old so to do it here in front of my friends and family is extra special,鈥� Hudson-Smith said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 most likely my last European champs so there鈥檚 no better place and way to go out.鈥�
The 400-meter silver medalist at the Paris Olympics is already eyeing the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
鈥淭he Europeans is always something I target. I know there鈥檚 always a gold there for me and it鈥檚 a good stepping stone to LA,鈥� he said. 鈥淓very race and every win is another step towards that ultimate goal of winning the Olympics.鈥�
Historic gold for Slovakia
Emma Zapletalova became the first Slovakian woman to win a gold medal at the European championships. She won the 400-meter hurdles final in a time of 52.91 seconds.
The 26-year-old Zapletalova was considered the favorite after Dutch star .
鈥淚 am endlessly happy that I managed it and was not affected by the pressure,鈥� she said.
The only other Slovakian athlete to win a medal at the European championships was Libor Charfreitag, who took the men鈥檚 hammer title in 2010.
鈥淭his is a precious medal for Slovakia 鈥� gold after a long 16 years,鈥� Zapletalova said. 鈥淚 still have to digest it.鈥�
Britain’s Emily Newnham took silver, and Portugal’s Fatoumata Binta Diallo was third.
Irish runner breaks record in 800
Irish middle-distance runner Mark English broke a longstanding record in the 800 meters when he won his semifinal heat.
English finished in 1 minute, 43.49 seconds to eclipse Olaf Beyer鈥檚 championship record of 1:43.84 set in 1978 in Prague.
鈥淚t is nice to have the record, for sure, and I felt really good doing it. But there will be a lot of really good guys in the final tomorrow, a lot of really talented runners, so I鈥檒l need to discuss tactics now after this,鈥� the 33-year-old English said as he looked ahead to Thursday’s final.
Beyer, who represented East Germany, had for the title 48 years ago.
鈥淚 saw the record before the race and I thought it would probably be broken by someone at these championships,鈥� said English, a two-time bronze medalist at the European championships.
English gave a shoutout to the Irish fans at Alexander Stadium: 鈥淚 heard them before the race, I heard them during the race, I heard them after it. I think close to 15 percent of went to Irish fans so it鈥檚 amazing to (be) running in front of such a crowd.鈥�
Britain’s Ben Pattison finished second in English’s heat, crossing in 1:43.72.
___
AP sports:
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
