The European 400m record-holder is targeting the top of the Olympic podium and would be the first British male in a century to achieve the feat over one lap

Its not hard to work out what Matthew Hudson-Smiths ultimate goal is at the Paris Olympics.

The 29-year-old only has eyes on the gold medal. If you want to win it, youve got to take it  from me, he says.

If he were to achieve such a feat, hed be the first British male to stand on top of the Olympic 400m podium since Eric Liddell.

The Flying Scotsman, who is famously depicted in the film Chariots of Fire, claimed his prestigious Olympic gold medal in Paris in 1924, the last time the Games were held in the French capital.

Given Hudson-Smiths current form, he has a strong chance of creating his own piece of history.

At last months London Diamond League, he smashed his own European record of 44.07 with a blistering 43.74. That time is still the world lead.

The double European 400m champion has claimed bronze and silver medals over one lap at the last two World Championships and feels the best prepared hes ever been, adding that the sport is 10 per cent physical and 90 per cent mental.

At the 2022 World Championships in Oregon, Hudson-Smith revealed that, due to a combination of injuries and mental health issues, he had previously attempted suicide and that life in the years preceding the championships had been an emotional rollercoaster.

His recovery has been helped by the support of people like coach Gary Evans and 2008 Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu.

Ahead of the Games, this is what Hudson-Smith had to say:

A bromance with Noah Lyles 

Weve been training with each other for about four years. I obviously have a very close relationship with him and his brother [Josephus]. I was actually called the third Lyles brother at some point! Ive seen all the hard work [Noah] has done and Im proud of him. Hes just one of those guys that whatever he says will get headlines but hes a good person. What you see with him is what you get.

Hes my boy and Im proud of his successes, as he is with mine. His success doesnt actually inspire me in the slightest as I inspire myself. He has his own mission, as do I. What he is doing is good but I want to emulate my own success.

Ive just got to get through the rounds. The rest of the world are just as strong as me. Its just one step at a time. Im ready.

Health is the key to everything clicking 

Theres no secret, Im just healthy. I ran 44.2 with one leg last year and then I tore my calf and ran 44.31. I think people thought I was lying when I said it. Im also understanding the 400m a lot more now. When I was 18/19, I ran 44.7 with no experience so its not really a surprise [Im running these faster times] if you think about it.

Its been a long road but I think maturity, growth and being a better total overall athlete has allowed me to be the best version of myself. I took a lot of things for granted. It was more the case of inexperience and doing it just because I could. Then certain aspects of life kind of hit and it was a reality check.

You know, after 2021 when that reality check did hit, I had a lot of people basically saying to me its time to take it [the sport] seriously. I remember the first conversation I had with my coach [Gary Evans] at Starbucks and he said to me as long as you trust me and you put in the hard work, itll be fine.

It was about seeing what happened, jumping into it with complete trust and then process, process, process.

A new gym regime

I watched a podcast with Michael Johnson and he was saying that you do things not because you like it but because you have to do it. There are no real excuses. I used to avoid the gym like the plague. Even in the past year, I didnt really do gym between April and the outdoor championships. I did stuff for my Achilles but the gym was never at the forefront of my mind. It was just ticking a box.

I now do gym at 6am, right before training. Its hard and not something I enjoy but the results are showing. If you hit the times when youre fatigued and then race when youre fresh, itll be easier to hit the times. So Im running under a lot of fatigue and I have to learn how to manoeuvre it. Why would you train fresh?

Whoever can hold their fatigue best wins. Thats not just the basis of my event but the nature of rounds. Thats why we do gym before [training] as were trying to get used to the fatigue, so when I am fresh I can do what Im doing [fast times] right now.

The power of the mind 

I always say the sport is 10 per cent physical and 90 per cent mental. Once you get to this level and everyone is of a similar ability, you know anyone can get to 300m but its what you do mentally in the last 100m.

You have to prepare your mind to push through the hurt. Like I said, I was very naive early on. I never took diet, physio and gym seriously because in my head I was doing pretty well just on the track. I was always top 10 in the world. I wouldnt say I was comfortable or happy but it was kind of being satisfied that I was doing okay in life compared to a lot of people.

Now, for instance, Christine doesnt allow me to settle. Shes always in my ear and forcing me to be the best person for myself. Its just the whole overall process of being an athlete and a better person. Its understanding my role in the sport instead of doing just one singular thing. You know, being an athlete is just one aspect of it. Youve got to do so many other things to develop yourself, even outside of it and learn different skills.

A personal best by half a second

One of the annoying things about this year has been that Ive actually gone into every race loaded. Im just like yo, when are we going to start easing off? We have a goal in mind and thats not just the gold medal but a specific time. Weve hit every single goal, including running sub-44, coming into the Olympics. We think that will probably be needed in the semi-finals.

The reason I missed the European Championships was because my coach said: Youve won it twice, what have you got to prove? So its about being ready for the Olympics. We have a singular focus and targets that we had to achieve to get to this point. Im not really fussed as in this sport, you dont want to be too high or low, just in the middle. If youre in the middle, you do what you need to do.

At the 2018 European Championships I thought Id run sub-44, was too excited and didnt do the recovery process from the previous round. So I ran the same time again. That was a learning curve in itself. Stay even keeled. It is [sub-44] is exciting but its not the end goal that we want.

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