'Exactly where I need to be' - Matt Hudson-Smith on track for LA2028

Matt Hudson-Smith did not quite have the finish required to scoop the jackpot at the World Athletics Ultimate Championship but the Olympic silver medallist is adamant he is on the right track for LA 2028.

A month on from his momentous European title in Birmingham in front of a temporary stand that bore his name, Hudson-Smith was back in action in athletics’ newest event in the Hungarian capital.

There was $150,000 on the line for the winner and Hudson-Smith looked in decent shape for much of the race, behind just Collen Kebinatshipi, the world champion from Botswana through 300m.

But as Kebinatshipi pulled away to cross the line in 43.39 seconds, making him the fifth fastest man in history, Hudson-Smith faded into fifth.

His time of 44.28 seconds was along similar lines to what he has achieved for much of this season, and while he was hoping for more, he also feels he is in good shape two years out from the Olympics.

He said: “I’m a professional, I had a job to do. I tried to set it up and finished the job. I wasn’t able to do it but we build towards the Olympics.

“I was only concentrating on myself. That was the plan: set it up, put myself in contention. I did exactly that. I just wasn't able to finish it off, but it’s sport at the end of the day.

“The drop is there. We're just going to build. I know there's a lot to improve. We're just working on weaknesses for the future.

“I'm exactly where I need to be. In 2022, I was 44.3. The year after, I was 44.2.

“It’s all about building that consistency.”

Kebinatshipi was the class of the field and at one stage, Wayde van Niekerk’s 10-year-old world record looked under threat.

That mark was set in the Olympic final in Rio back in 2016, a race in which Hudson-Smith finished eighth, and the 31-year-old is relishing the level being shown by those at the top end of the event.

He added: “This year is an off year, but this year is about working on your weaknesses and getting towards the main goal. So we know where we are, we know where we can build towards.

“I was in the world-record race in 2016, so I know about a world record. I'm not new to this.

“Everyone's going to talk about this world record, the strength in depth in the 400.

“It was a battle on the home straight (in Budapest). They got it this one, but the next one's mine.”

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