Home favourite powers to his third European 400m title thanks to thrilling run from outside lane, while Emily Newnham strides to 400m hurdles silver and second place on the British all-time list.

On an evening when the Alexander Stadium crowd witnessed the solar eclipse, the stars aligned for Matthew Hudson-Smith as he flew to his third European 400m title on his home track in Birmingham. 

The Birchfield Harrier, whose name adorns one of the temporary stands erected for these championships and grew up racing on this track, did not have an easy task, with his second place in the semi-finals having seen him drawn out in lane nine. 

Yet the European record-holder threw everything he had at the race, attacking hard right from the off and hitting the line in 44.17 to hold off the closing charge of Frenchman Muhammad Abdallah Kounta (44.40), while there was a national record of 44.41 for Dutchman Jonas Phijffers in third.

Hudson-Smith had hoped to experience that winning feeling in front of the Alexander Stadium crowd when the Commonwealth Games were staged here in 2022, only to be upstaged on that occasion by Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga.

But the man from Wolverhampton refused to be denied this time, hitting halfway in 20.86 at 200m and 31.80 at 300m to give himself a healthy gap and room for manoeuvre in the closing straight. Even as the lactic kicked in and the opposition began to gain ground, roared on by all corners of the stadium he willed himself to the line and flexed his muscles as the reality of his victory sank in.

Hudson-Smith, also an Olympic and world silver medallist, now has eight European Championships medals to his name, meaning he is now equal with French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre's men's record medal tally. The 31-year-old, who will now turn his attention to the 4x400m relay, admitted this is likely to be the last European Championships of his career. But what a note to bow out on.

“It was hard not to cry,” he said of the winning moment that he was able to share with generations of his family. “I think adrenaline got me through."

But how did he approach the final, given that difficult vantage point from the outside? Wayde van Niekerk set his world record of 43.03 ten years ago from lane nine but running well there, unable to see the opposition, is not a simple trick to pull off.

“My coach said: ‘you’re not going to feel anybody, so run through the line’," added Hudson-Smith. "I knew it was going take one hell of an effort. On this track, 44.17 is a very fast time. It’s Birmingham, I’ve trained here and I know how to run on this track."

Hudson-Smith's uncomfortable-looking finish to that semi-final, as well as his failure to come through the media area to talk about it afterwards, had sparked theories that he was injured and not at full strength.

However, he added: "I was just laughing [at that]. I didn’t come through the mixed zone because we were getting ready for the final, so that’s on me. I know I’m not the most vocal on social media and at vocalising my story so I’m going to try to start doing that. 

“It’s hard to do that. You either want to be the best on the track or the best on social media. My friend Noah Lyles is good at both, but that’s not me. I’m focused on the track but I’m going to let my personality show more and more. 

"The story’s not finished. We’ve got the 4x400m relay [here] and then another two years and we’ll take it from there but I think this will be my last European Championships."

It is his first as a father, though, and when asked what he would say to his daughter to explain what he had achieved, Hudson-Smith said: “I would say: ‘I’m sorry I missed all the big moments. I do this for you. One day you’ll understand that I’m not always going to be there but I did all this so you could set up your future. You’ll understand one day that I had to make a lot of sacrifices for you to live the life that I deserve and I hope you’ll have everything that I never had.”

There was another stirring medal-winning British performance from lane nine a few moments later when Emily Newnham picked the perfect time to produce the fastest run of her life, moving to second on the national all-time lists with a run of 53.33 that secured her the silver medal in the final of the women's 400m hurdles final. 

Emma Zapletalová lived up to her billing as firm favourite, the Slovak Republic athlete continuing her brilliant season by taking gold in 52.91, while Fatoumata Binta Diallo broke the Portuguese record with 53.55 to take bronze. 

Following Femke Bol’s move to the 800m, Zapletalová has stepped into the gap left by the world champion and has been fastest in the world so far this year following her personal best of 52.30. There have been four Diamond League wins to enjoy, too, but now also a senior European title after she moved into the lead from hurdle eight and strode to victory. 

Newnham sat sixth with two hurdles remaining but her finishing speed is proving to be a potent weapon for the European U23 champion and it allowed her to make up significant ground.

This is the 22-year-old's second honour of the summer, having also recently captured Commonwealth silver in Glasgow, and now the former Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth champion Sally Gunnell – with 52.74 – is the only British woman to have run faster than her. 

"I wanted it so badly," said Newnham. "Once I got on to that finishing straight, I just thought: 'fight, fight'. Seeing Matt win in lane nine, I knew I had no excuses at that point."

Meanwhile, Amy Hunt’s quest for four gold medals at these championships continued as the 100m champion qualified fastest for the women’s 200m final with her run of 22.37 (-0.1) to win the second heat. 

She will be joined in Thursday evening’s final by two fellow Britons – former world champion Dina Asher-Smith winning heat one in 22.49, while national champion Success Eduan was the fastest of the non-automatic qualifiers with her run of 22.56 to finish third in heat three. That race was won by Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke, whose return from injury continued with her time of 22.43.

Men's 400m: 1 Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) 44.17; 2 Muhammad Abdallah Kounta (FRA) 44.40; 3 Jonas Phijffers (NED) 44.41 NR; 4 Attila Molnár (HUN) 44.55; 5 Jean Paul Bredau (GER) 44.93; 6 Maksymilian Szwed (POL) 45.06; 7 Patrik Simon Enyingi (HUN) 45.36; 8 Daniel Segers (BEL) 45.48

Women's 400m hurdles: 1 Emma Zapletalová (SVK) 52.91; 2 Emily Newnham (GBR) 53.33; 3 Fatoumata Binta Diallo (POR) 53.55 NR; 4 Paulien Couckuyt (BEL) 53.87; 5 Ayomide Folorunso (ITA) 54.29; 6 Lina Nielsen (GBR) 54.35; 7 Amalie Iuel (NOR) 54.70; 8 Louise Maraval (FRA) 54.88