With the European Athletics Championships due to start in Birmingham on August 10, local hero Hudson-Smith is preparing to compete for medals on the track where his athletics journey began.

Few athletes will carry greater local support into this summer's European Athletics Championships than Matthew Hudson-Smith.

With just two months to go until the championships begin at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, the Wolverhampton-born 400m runner is set to return to the venue where he first discovered athletics as a 10-year-old and later won an English Schools 200m title as a teenager.

Now 31, Hudson-Smith returns as one of Britain's biggest medal prospects and one of the most decorated athletes in European competition. The fastest European in history over 400m thanks to his personal best of 43.44, he has collected six medals across three European Championships, including individual golds in Berlin in 2018 and Munich in 2022.

The significance of competing on home soil is not lost on him.

"My relationship with Birmingham – and Wolverhampton, and the Midlands as a whole – is always going to be strong," he says. "They're synonymous with who I am.

"I've lived in Florida since 2017 and I still haven't lost the accent. That just shows how much I love being at home."

His connection with the city has already been recognised by organisers, who have temporarily renamed an extension of the North Stand at Alexander Stadium in his honour for this year's championships. It is a fitting tribute for an athlete who spent his formative years competing at the venue and who has become one of the region's greatest sporting success stories.

Despite relocating to the United States nearly a decade ago, Hudson-Smith insists Birmingham remains home.

"If I'm honest, I never really wanted to leave Birmingham," he says. "This is my home. I love it here."

The move to Florida was driven by ambition rather than a desire to leave the Midlands behind. After reaching the Olympic 400m final in Rio in 2016, he realised many of the world's leading quarter-milers were training in America.

"I felt like I needed a change," he explains. "I needed to grow as a person and train with these guys because I needed to see what they were about."

The decision proved transformative. In 2022 he broke Iwan Thomas' long-standing British record before lowering the European mark that had stood for 37 years. Since then he has added world silver and Olympic silver to his growing collection of medals, missing Olympic gold in Paris by just four hundredths of a second.

After an injury-disrupted 2025 season, Hudson-Smith is determined to remind people of his quality in front of a home crowd this summer.

"Before Worlds I was winning every race and ranked number one, then I got injured at the wrong time," he says. "Opening my season with 44.25 (Rabat Diamond League) after that injury put a few people back on notice."

His preparations have also coincided with a major change away from the track. Hudson-Smith became a father last year and admits balancing elite sport with family life has brought new challenges.

"I'll be honest with you, it's been a terrible winter in terms of sleep," he laughs. "You're juggling training and a small human. But we've got the hang of it now."

Far from being a distraction, fatherhood has given him fresh perspective.

"I actually love being a dad – it's amazing. Watching her personality come out is a blessing. I'm just trying to enjoy every single moment."

First, though, there is unfinished business on the track. With Birmingham preparing to welcome Europe's best athletes in August, Hudson-Smith knows expectations will be high. Yet the prospect of competing for medals in front of family, friends and local supporters is one he relishes.

"I was 10 years old sitting in that stadium," he says. "Now I've got a stand. I used to joke about it for years, and now it's actually happened."

Two months from now, he will hope to add something even more memorable to his Birmingham story: another European gold medal on home soil.