22 August 2023 , 23:09
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Matt Hudson-Smith made history in Budapest by smashing a European record dating back to the last century.
A month after leaving his last track appearance in a wheelchair, Britain’s 400 metres star returned with a bang to take down the 36-year-old mark set by East Germany's Thomas Schönlebe.
His time of 44.26 seconds easily won his semi-final and left legend Michael Johnson purring: “That was extremely impressive - he's put himself right in the mix for a medal.”
The battling Brummie, a bronze medallist last year, claims he has held something back for tomorrow’s final.
“That is just job done,” he said. “I will be happy when I get that medal.”
Team GB Oympian has car broken into as family make plea to find training gear
Laura Muir’s own medal hopes melted in the heat as she finished sixth behind the now three-time champion Faith Kipyegon., who claimed victory in 3:54.87.
Her time of 3:58.58 kept her just ahead of team mates Katie Snowden (3:59.65) and Melissa Courtney-Bryant (4:03.31).
Conditions here are so severe that organisers have ruled that some of today’s races be moved due to the risk of Exertional Heat Stroke (EHS).
Hudson-Smith: “That is just job done” (PA)Away from the action athletics’ anti-doping unit warned they had turned up the heat on drugs cheats with a new “blood steroid passport” which will make it harder to use anabolic steroids.
The Athletics’ Integrity Unit has helped develop the World Anti-Doping Agency-approved tool which, for the first time, will enable testing bodies to detect steroid use from data collected from blood rather than urine.
Since 2009 the AIU have used the Athlete Biological Passport to identify offences such as blood doping in distance running. The BSP, it is hoped, will be more effective in spotting the use of drugs more commonly abused in power events.