Great Britain’s 400m World Championship bronze medallist Matt Hudson-Smith says he struggled with his mental health last year as he battled with injury, debt and the Covid pandemic.
“I had huge mental health issues in 2021,” he said after winning his medal in Eugene on Friday.
“Not a lot of people know this, but I literally attempted suicide.”
The European champion clocked 44.66 seconds to finish behind the United States’ Michael Norman and Kirani James of Grenada and win Britain’s fourth medal of the event.
It was a sweet moment after a tough period based in the USA, where he lost sponsors and accrued a significant debt as he struggled with injury issues, and missed last year’s Olympics.
“I was racing knowing I was hurt all the time, going to races knowing I’m not 100%. I couldn’t do the Olympics for several reasons,” he admitted.
“Everyone who has been around me, from my agent, to my coach, family, my girlfriend… honestly, a lot of people would have cracked… it’s just having the best support.
“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster. Imagine stepping on the line knowing you’re hurt. You have a whole load of pressure because everyone expects a lot from you. You expect a lot from yourself.
“During Covid, I was stuck in America by myself. I love America, but I wanted to be with my family. It was tough.
“I remember talking to a lot of people about not doing the sport.
“My mum and girlfriend were like ‘give it a year’. I was going to be an electrician and then obviously I was trying to get my Green Card [to have the ability to live and work there permanently].
“Things work in mysterious ways because my Green Card got denied. My mum and others were like, ‘listen, just do this’ and now I’ve paid the debts off, I got picked up by Puma and I’ve got this medal.”
Hudson-Smith, who set a new British record earlier this year, is advised by 2008 Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu and believes his medal proves he can compete at the top.
He added: “I always knew I could medal and had the potential to do this. It just solidifies it. I’ve seen it all and maybe I’ve shut a few people up. They might have said I should have stayed at home, I’ve heard everything and they can’t really say anything now.
“For the whole year, my coach has been saying ‘the race is lost in the last 20 metres’. In the semis, I looked to my right and I lost my momentum. So in the finals, I was like ‘don’t look at the clock, don’t do anything’. So I was just looking forward.
“It was an anxious wait and then I saw my name and I just dropped to the floor because these three years have been absolute hell.”
Source: BBC Sports