Former University of Worcester student Matthew Hudson-Smith has set a new European record.

Hudson-Smith broke the European 400-metre record at the Diamond League Meeting in Oslo.

He surged clear of the pack on the final bend before extending his lead on the straight to post a time of 44.07 seconds.

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His run shaved two-tenths of a second off his own previous record of 44.26, which he set in the 2023 World Championships semi-final in Budapest, Hungary.

Hudson-Smith said: "I knew coming into this I was in good shape, the plan was to execute and get ready."

“I did exactly that and now I’ll get ready for the Europeans and the big one, which is the Olympics.

“I’m going to take it (European Championships) like it is a mini-Olympics.

"I want to get ready for three rounds and the Europeans is the perfect opportunity to get ready for the Olympics."

He continued: "My coach has got a knack of getting ready for the championships, as you can see.

"We have a plan and we know what we’re capable of, but I'm not going to put a time out there."

Motivated, he concluded: "At the end of the day the goal is to get the golds and the medals and as long as I’m healthy I’m in the hunt really and truly."

Hudson-Smith will be searching for redemption come the Olympic Games in Paris in the summer, having been unable to hold off Jamaican Antonio Watson to claim World Championship glory last August, and having to settle for second.

But nine months on, Hudson-Smith, whose name was upside down on his vest, surged out of the blocks at the Bislett Games and triumphed in the last stretch, beating his competition by more than half a second.

Grenada's former world and Olympic champion Kirani James came second with a time of 44.58 seconds, followed closely by American Vernon Norwood, who came in third with 44.68 seconds.