It has been just about a month since British sprinter Matt Hudson-Smith bagged double hardware upon the grandest stage in Paris. After his successful campaign at the 2024 Olympics, the 29-year-old was poised to prove his salt once again in Brussels this weekend, but it wasn’t to be.

Despite being the favorite in the event, the Olympian pulled up within the opening 200 meters in the men’s 400m sprint. The moment is captured in a post by BBC Sport on X. In the accompanying video, the athlete from Wolverhampton can be seen looking uncomfortable with the first few strides of his race before ultimately deciding to put an end to it altogether.

Building up to the weekend event in the Belgian capital, Hudson-Smith was poised to lead the charge for the British contingent at the King Baudouin Stadium. The recently crowned men’s 400m Olympic silver medalist was expected to upgrade his hardware at this year’s Diamond League finale, and also take on Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga once again after their last clash in Paris last month. However, all these hopes were left in ruins as Hudson-Smith’s campaign in Brussels ended in frustration.

But not everything was bleak for the Brits in Belgium on the first day of the season-closing Diamond League final. With Hudson-Smith out of the equation, fellow Englishman Charlie Dobson wheezed into glory after crossing the finishing line in 44.49 seconds. On the other hand, the story was very different for Dobson’s teammate. Despite suffering from what looked like a cramp, Hudson-Smith limped his way to finish the race, clocking 2:37.21. With that, he also failed to complete his Diamond League season on a high note.

Matt Hudson-Smith falls short of matching up fans’ expectations

2024 has been a good year for Hudson-Smith. In the course of months, the Brit won several 400m races in the Diamond League, while also breaking the European record. At the London Diamond League in July, he also achieved his personal best time in the event after clinching victory with 43.74 seconds on the clock. Just three weeks ago, he added another gold to his medal cabinet as he crossed the finishing line in 43.96 seconds. Naturally, expectations were high for the Olympic medalist and fans were expecting to see a blazing performance from him in Belgium. Considering how he would be going against some of the most emphatic 400m runners like the USA’s Vernon Norwood, Hudson-Smith’s followers were sure that he would go on to show the world his mettle in style. But all that anticipation fell flat on its face.

Along with the prospect of bagging another gold at the tournament, Hudson-Smith was also aiming to become only the second-ever 400m sprinter to record four sub-44 finishes in one season. However, that looked like a distant dream thanks to his slow start out of the block. Now, as Matt goes into recovery, it remains to be seen if he can get his mojo back and overcome his troubles at the next World Championships next year in Tokyo.