Hudson-Smith retains European title to banish Commonwealth demons

By Will Jennings in Munich Matt Hudon-Smith believes he has finally banished his Commonwealth Games demons after brilliantly defending his European 400m title in Munich. Ad The former Loughborough College student clocked 44.53s to beat Swiss star Ricky Petrucciani as British teammate Alex Haydock-Wilson bagged a surprise bronze. AthleticsSeamus Derbyshire hopes resilience will bring European glory21 MINUTES AGO Hudson-Smith, 27, won World Championship bronze in Oregon before being denied a hometown Commonwealth title in Birmingham by Zambian underdog Muzala Samukonga.

But he emphatically turned the tables last night as a lightning turn of pace off the final bend proved too hot for Petrucciani to handle and capped a searing season. Hudson-Smith said: «The Commonwealths were a big low but this feels good. »It was a controlled run, I knew the mistakes I made at the Commonwealths and I said to the BBC I would never make that mistake again.

«I knew where the mistakes were. I was more annoyed at the execution than the result and today was all about that. »It was a lesson learned and I came away with the gold today.

I was way more emotional in Eugene but now it is all expectation. «I wanted to wind it up and try and be calculated, try and go for the gold. I think people thought I'd go out absolutely blazing on the backstraight, so I used them and I controlled it and wound it up.» Haydock-Wilson, 23, ran a massive race in his maiden European final to haul himself onto the podium by the barest of margins.