27-year-old Matt Hudson-Smith of Great Britain won the 400m bronze at the World Championships on Friday to put three years of "absolute hell" behind.
He revealed that he attempted suicide during three years of "absolute hell" when he was dropped by sponsors and plagued by injuries, debt and pandemic. The sudden deaths of prominent athletics coaches Lloyd Cowan and Neil Black, who had been mentor figures, also hit him hard.
“It was tough, man,” he said, according to reports. “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."
“In 2019, I tore my Achilles, tore my hamstring and messed up my hip. 2020 was Covid, and I had huge mental health issues in 2021.
“I was racing knowing I was hurt all the time, going to races knowing I’m not 100 per cent. I couldn’t do the Olympics for several reasons.
“I got into huge debt because of the American health system and I didn’t have insurance. I remember talking to a lot of people about not doing the sport. I was going to be an electrician.”
“I had huge mental health issues in 2021. Not a lot of people know this, but I literally attempted suicide,” he reportedly said.
The European champion clocked 44.66 seconds to finish behind the USA’s Michael Norman and Kirani James of Grenada, who took silver in Eugene.
The Sun quoted Hudson-Smith as saying, “When I saw my name on the board as third, I just dropped to the floor because these three years have been absolute hell.
A few minutes after crossing the Hayward Field finish line, Matt Hudson-Smith paused for a moment, looked at the world 400 metres bronze medal hung around his neck and shook his head while considering how close he had been to missing out on this moment, The Telegraph reports.