Euro Champs Day 3 Recap: Hudson-Smith Wins Third 400m Gold, Zapletalová Takes 400H Title

Matthew Hudson-Smith has won his third 400m gold medal at the Euro Champs, securing the title with a time of 44.17. The British athlete, who grew up racing on the Birmingham track, maintained a massive lead from halfway and held on to win by a stride.

Hudson-Smith, who has won the 400m gold medal twice before in 2018 and 2022, attributed his success to his training and experience. "The lane draw never bothers me, a 400m is a 400m," he said. "It's always going to be hard, we train in every lane anyway so lane 9 is something I'm used to."

In the 110m hurdles, Jason Joseph of Switzerland took the gold medal with a time of 13.12. Joseph, who was the bronze medalist two years ago, caught up with Poland's Jakub Szymanski, the World Indoor champion, and overtook him on the final stretch.

The women's 400m hurdles saw Emma Zapletalová of Slovakia dominate the competition, winning the title with a time of 52.91. Zapletalová, who had four DL wins this season, was initially led by Belgium's Paulien Couckuyt but took the lead over the final two hurdles and crossed the finish line in first place.

In the women's hammer throw, Silja Kosonen of Finland secured the gold medal with a throw of 250-3 (76.28). Kosonen, who had a good season and felt confident, said, "I came for gold. I ended up 4th or 5th too many times before. But coming here, I felt confident."

## Decathlon Update

The decathlon competition saw World champion Leo Neugebauer of Germany take the lead with a 10.90 in the 100m, a 25-8 (7.82) in the long jump, and a 56-3¾ (17.16) in the shot put. However, he slipped in the high jump and 400m, managing a painful-looking 48.81.

## Medalists

| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Men's 400m | Matthew Hudson-Smith (GB) | Muhammad Abdalla Kounta (Fra) | Jonas Phijffers (Neth) | | Men's 110m Hurdles | Jason Joseph (Swi) | Just Kwaou-Mathey (Fra) | Jakub Szymański (Pol) | | Women's 400m Hurdles | Emma Zapletalová (Svk) | Emily Newnham (GB) | Fatoumata Diallo (Por) | | Women's Hammer Throw | Silja Kosonen (Fin) | Sara Fantini (Ita) | Beatrice Nedberge Llano (Nor) |