Rio Olympics 2016: Matthew Hudson-Smith could have been playing for Wolves – but instead he was being beaten by Liverpool fan Wayde van Niekerk
MATT HUDSON-SMITH could have been playing for Wolves.
Instead last night he ran the race of his life in an Olympic final as - South African Wayde Van Niekerk smashed Michael Johnson's 400m world record that had stood for 17 years.
Johnson posted 43.18 seconds when he won the world title in Seville in 1999, but Van Niekerk took it apart to clock 43.03sec.
British hope Hudson-Smith burst onto the scene two years ago when he won 4x400m golds at the Commonwealth Games and European Championships and an individual silver in Zurich behind team-mate Martyn Rooney.
Such was his promise he was immediately snapped up by Usain Bolt's management team.
He had pledged to make up for lost time after missing last summer's World Championships with a series of injuries including three fractures in his back.
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After setting a personal best of 44.48sec in the semi-finals the 21-year-old trailed home last in 44.61sec.
Hudson-Smith took up athletics as a 10 year-old, after he was let go by the Wolves football academy.
And he could still be a star at Tokyo 2020 if he continues to improve.
But Christine Ohuruogu, the Olympic 400m champion from 2008 and silver medallist at London 2012, will be unable to make it a hat-trick of medals.
She failed to make it into tonight's one-lap showdown after clocking 51.22sec to finish fifth in her semi.
The 32 year-old, who made her Olympic debut at Athens 2004, admitted: "I'm old, I think we are coming to the end.
"I thought after the heat the old Christine was back but she only paid a fleeting visit! She's gone. I'll try not to lose too much sleep over it. The training gets tougher each year but I've had some great moments."
Meanwhile, Laura Muir will aim to follow in the footsteps of Kelly Holmes when she lines up in the final tomorrow.
Muir was just 11 when Holmes triumphed at Athens 2004 but last month broke the 12 year-old British record she set en route to 1500m gold having already clinched the 800m title.
The Scottish athlete, who is studying to be a vet at Glasgow University, is now among the favourites to get a medal here - if not gold- having clocked clocked 3:57.49 at the Anniversary Games in London. She took 0.41 off Holmes' record, a time only bettered this summer by Kenya’s world silver medallist Faith Kipyegon.
Muir, who finished fifth at last summer's World Championships in Beijing, was tipped for stardom three years ago by her coach Andy Young. who went on Facebook to declare he had discovered the next Holmes/Paula Radcliffe. Now she is on the verge of finally living up to that promise.
The 23 year-old said: "Kelly was among the first to congratulate me when I broke her record. It was lovely of her and she sent me a private message as well. I had a wee chat with her. She said ‘well done’ and ‘all the best for Rio’ and said she will be rooting for me.
"Kelly was always someone I looked up to. She has always kind of been there as a figure in the sport - her and Paula Radcliffe and Steve Cram, Seb Coe and that kind of golden era. I’m very lucky I’ve got to meet a lot of them now and have them say nice things about me. It’s a privilege.
"What Kelly did was phenomenal. I’ve done one footstep. Hopefully I can follow in a few others.”
She clocked 4:04.16 on Sunday night to book her place in the showdown.
She admitted: "Anything could happen. It could be slow and scrappy or it could be fast, you could fall or trip. I want to go come off the track feeling I’ve given 100 per cent. Hopefully that will be enough to sneak into the medals.