Fingers were starting to touch the keyboard. Intros being formulated, allusions to ­history made. “Matt Hudson‑Smith last night became the first Briton since Eric Liddell in 1924 to wi …” And then Quincy Hall came from the gods to have everyone ­pressing the delete key. Hall is known as a closer. But with 50 metres remaining of this Olympic men’s 400m final, the 26‑year‑old American surely was too far back. Hudson-Smith was five or six metres ahead, the gold medal just strides away. But then came the gut punch. Suddenly the Briton’s legs started to tie up. Simultaneously Hall’s long, galloping strides increased in urgency and power. A metre from the line, he caught him to win in a personal best of 43.40sec. Hudson-Smith’s compensation was a silver medal and a European best of 43.44, with Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga claiming bronze in 43.74. Not that he could see things sunny side up, at least not initially. As he looked up at the screen he uttered one word repeatedly: “Fuck.” The worst thing about it? ­Hudson‑Smith had no idea Hall was coming. “I thought I had cleared the field,” he said. “But I kept trying to quicken as I knew someone was going to come. I just didn’t know who. I was trying to run through the line. But he got me.” Hall, who celebrated by doing snow angels, said: “I was just ­thinking: ‘Keep on driving. Get home, sir.’ Two of my brothers have passed, and I have two daughters, seven and two. So when I go out on the track I have a lot of reasons to run hard.” Hudson-Smith had been seeking to emulate Liddell’s story, immor­talised in the 1981 Oscar-winning film ­Chariots of Fire. The official report of the 1924 Olympic 400m final also noted that at one point Liddell was six to eight metres clear before “triumphing clearly by a good three metres”. And at one point ­Hudson‑Smith appeared to have a similar lead but couldn’t quite close it home. Still, what a night this was for ­Hudson-Smith, whose life story has been part Sliding Doors, part Rocky Balboa. As a teenager in 2014 he was planning to swap a job at Asda for the army, when he got a call ­inviting him to the Glasgow Diamond League after a late withdrawal. He then shocked everyone by running 44.97 – shattering his personal best by nearly a second. Soon he was calling Asda to tell them he wasn’t coming back, and European and Commonwealth gold medals quickly followed. However, Hudson-Smith’s career started to be ripped apart by injuries and mental health issues that would have felled a lesser athlete. In 2019, he tore a hamstring and an achilles. In 2020, he racked up huge medical debts in the US and his mental health issues worsened. In 2021 he contemplated suicide. It made his comeback even more remarkable. “Last year I had an achilles issue,” he said. “I had mental health issues coming into 2022. This year is the first year where I have had an actual season where there has been no issues and the results are showing. “I am not angry, I am not upset. I was like: ‘Oh, fuck it, it’s life at the end of the day.’ There is only going to be one winner. He’s the better man, he came on strong, I cannot complain. I ran the fifth fastest time overall. I have said that if you are going to win, you are going to have to take it from me, and he did. “They know that it has been a rough journey. Incredible high and so deep, deep lows. Man, it’s sport. It’s a crazy one. They know what is to come. The world does as well.” For the past two years the 29‑year‑old from Wolverhampton has been clambering towards the top of the podium one careful step at a time, starting with a world championship bronze in 2022, followed by a 2023 world silver in Budapest despite having an achilles issue. Over the winter, he started ­serious gym work for the first time. He was rewarded by smashing the 44sec barrier last month and with another personal best here. “Honestly, sometimes the journey is better than the outcome and it has been a hell of a journey,” he said. “I’m just grateful. I came away with an Olympic silver. Not many people in the world can say that. I’ve been the bridesmaid twice now. But this is just that start.” He also admitted there was a lot of emotion around during the lap of honour. “I saw my family. I didn’t even know they were here. It was a bit of a shock really. My mum and my dad don’t really watch because they hate it, just as I hate them watching me as well.” Hudson-Smith made it clear that he believes he can go much faster – and that possibly even Wayde van Niekerk’s world record of 43.03sec from 2016 could be in striking range if he keeps improving. “I saw people say that I ran too fast in the semis,” he said. “I knew I could drop the time. I also know as well it didn’t take as much out of me as I thought. I will keep building on this. I want to shock the world, I want to shock the world, it’s a matter of time.” Roll on LA.