Matthew Hudson-Smith won the men’s 400m gold at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, securing a third European title in the event on the track where he began competing as a child. The victory was especially significant because the 31-year-old, from Wolverhampton, raced at Alexander Stadium in front of a stand named after him.

His eighth European Championships podium equalled Christophe Lemaitre’s men’s record medal tally, while his fifth gold matched Mo Farah and Roger Black and made him level with Dina Asher-Smith as Britain’s most decorated athlete at the championships. Hudson-Smith, the fastest European over 400m this year, started from the outside lane after finishing second in his semi-final, but established a decisive lead before the home straight; Britain’s Emily Newnham later won silver in the women’s 400m hurdles.