Wolverhampton sprint ace admits 'oh no' thought as he squeezes into World Championship semi-final
Matthew Hudson-Smith missed out on automatic qualification in the World Championship heats but squeezed into a 400m semi-final place as a fastest qualifier.
The Wolverhampton star is gunning for gold in Tokyo after a silver two years ago in Budapest but almost fell at the first hurdle in the Asia showpiece after admitting to feeling out of sorts.
Olympic silver medallist Hudson-Smith finished fourth in heat two as he fell away in the latter stages of his race and finished short of three automatic places. He spent time on his back afterwards contemplating the struggle and later pointed to hip discomfort.
"It felt flat, and my hips are a bit iffy," said Hudson-Smith.
"I was running and I felt ‘oh no, my hips don’t feel good’.
"I got through it, but it hurt man. I don’t know, I really don’t know, I literally had nothing. It’s weird."
Hudson-Smith had a nervous wait for the remainder of the six heats to have it confirmed whether he would finish as one of the six fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
By the end of heat six the 30-year-old was third-fastest of the non-automatic qualifiers and booked his place in Tuesday's semi-final alongside compatriot Samuel Reardon and fellow Brit Charlie Dobson.
Hudson-Smith is targeting an elusive global gold medal and admitted becoming a father following the birth of his baby daughter three weeks ago is a new added motivation for the competition.
The semi-final in the Japan capital takes place on Tuesday, with the final on Thursday.
