Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith claimed his first Olympic medal with silver in a 400 metres final won by American Quincy Hall.
The Wolverhampton athlete was leading into the closing stages when Hall found another gear to snatch gold in a personal-best 43.40.
Hudson-Smith finished four hundredths of a second behind to lower his own European record, with Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga claiming bronze.
Hall’s winning time to beat world silver-medallist Hudson-Smith was good enough for the fourth-fastest in history at 400m, the Briton’s time placing him fifth on that same list.
Hudson-Smith said: “It was crazy. Sometimes the journey is better than the result and it’s been a hell of a journey. I’m just grateful.
“I’ve got an Olympic silver medal and how many people can say that? I’ve been the bridesmaid a couple of times now but my time is coming. I’m just happy and grateful.
“My family are here. I didn’t know they were here so that was a bit of a shock. I hate them watching me and my parents don’t really watch me because they hate watching me as much as I hate them watching so it’s crazy that they came. It’s been a hell of a journey.
“I ran it exactly the way my coach told me to. We knew it was going to come down to the last 50 and I thought I had it but he had an extra gear.
“I hit the gear a little bit too late, as we came up he had one step on me and that was it. But I’m healthy, this is just the start and time to build. My time is going to come.
“I thought I’d cleared the field. I knew someone was going to come, I wasn’t trying to ease up, I was running to the line. He got me on the line, it happens.”
Hudson-Smith finished last in the final on Olympic debut at Rio 2016, a race won by South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk in what remains a world record time.
The 29-year-old was leading the chase with 50 metres to go as he battled Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards, who was hot on his tail.
But world bronze medallist Hall surged forward in the final 50 metres in a thrilling finish to seal his own maiden Olympic medal.
Hudson-Smith was among the favourites to win gold in Paris after laying down a world-leading European record 43.74 at the London Diamond League meet on July 20.
His medal is another remarkable achievement following a courageous comeback from a series of setbacks, injuries and personal challenges over a three-year period he once referred to as “absolute hell”.
A series of lingering injuries to his Achilles, hamstring and hip beginning in 2019 were among the reasons he was forced to miss the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Those issues also led to Hudson-Smith losing his sponsors and – without insurance – crushing financial debt.
Hudson-Smith’s mentor Lloyd Cowan passed away aged 58 that January, the same year that he found himself isolated in America, far away from family and friends during the Covid-19 pandemic.
After winning 400 metres bronze at the 2022 world championships for his first major medal, Hudson-Smith revealed he had tried to commit suicide during that difficult period.
He has surged since hitting rock-bottom, following that bronze in Eugene by taking 400 metres silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, then gold in both the 400 metres relay and individual 400 metres at the European championships that year.
In 2023 in Budapest, he upgraded that world bronze to silver, setting what was then a new European record of 44.26 seconds in the process.
Earlier, Noah Lyles took one step closer to his dream of achieving an individual Olympic sprint double in Paris after securing his spot in the 200 metres final at the Stade de France.
The American claimed 100 metres gold by five one thousandths of a second on Sunday night and needed to finish in the top two from semi-final heat two to automatically book his place in Thursday night’s showdown.
Like that 100m final, Lyles got out to the slowest start of the eight-man field, but made up for it when he crossed the line in 20.08 seconds for second spot behind Botswanan Letsile Tebogo in 19.96.
Great Britain’s Amber Anning booked her place in Friday’s women’s 400 metres finals after posting a personal best 49.47 seconds in the last of three semi-finals.