Matthew Hudson-Smith has revealed he ignores Noah Lyles after the American star messaged him ahead of last night’s 400m race.
The Team GB star previously lived with the 100m Olympic champion and their brother Josephus in the United States and built a strong friendship, leading Hudson-Smith to be described as the ‘third Lyles brother’.
Hudson-Smith came close to securing the British team’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Wednesday evening.
He raced away to the lead, but a brilliant late charge from Quincy Hall handed the gold medal to Lyles’ American team-mate. Hudson-Smith burst into tears after the race, which he lost by just 0.04 seconds.
In an interview with Eurosport this morning, the 29-year-old Brit was asked about his former roommate.
Matthew Hudson-Smith has revealed he ghosted his former housemate Noah Lyles
The Team GB star revealed his former housemate Lyles messaged him before Wednesday’s 400m final
Quincy Hall sneaked past Hudson-Smith before the finish line to take the gold medal for the US
Hudson-Smith was visibly emotional after the race as he hugged family members
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When asked if he had received any messages from Lyles, he replied, “I’ll probably see him again after this.”
“He sent me a message beforehand and it was, well, I didn’t read it because I was so focused on the task at hand. I still haven’t had a chance to read it.”
When told it was “really important” to ignore Lyles, he replied, “I know, man.”
Eurosport presenter Orla Chennaoui then explained how Hudson-Smith and Lyles know each other and mentioned a toilet habit the British star had when they lived together, according to the American.
Chennaoui said, “We need to explain that Matthew used to be a roommate of Noah Lyles and you shared a house in America.
“He did say that one of the things he learned from living with you was that you don’t wipe your feet when you leave the bathroom, and that the carpet outside the bathroom is always very wet. Have you learned to wipe your feet yet, Matthew?”
Hudson-Smith joked: “Why is he trying to bait me out, man? No, I could bait him out as many times as I want, but no, he’s a global superstar, guys, there’s got to be some mystery left.”
Ahead of Wednesday’s 400-meter race, Lyles said he was “voting” for Hudson-Smith to win the gold medal.
Hudson-Smith missed out on gold by just 0.04 seconds to Hall on Wednesday night
Olympic 100m champion Lyles lived with Hudson-Smith when the Team GB star moved to Florida, where they both trained under Lance Brauman
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Hudson-Smith moved to Florida in 2017 after deciding he was too busy in England.
He moved to the United States to train under Lance Brauman, who that same year took on the promising 2016 US junior champion in Lyles.
He told the story of how Hudson-Smith moved to his home in Florida, telling the Press Association: ‘My brother and I bought a house. He didn’t really want to buy an apartment, and I said something like, ‘Well, why don’t you come and live with me and Josephus for a while? We’ve got a spare room.’
“And he was like, ‘Oh yeah!’ So he lived with us. I learned a lot about Matt in that one year. I learned that he doesn’t like to wipe his feet before he leaves the bathroom, so the carpet in the bathroom of his room is always wet and he likes to cut it really, really short when he goes to practice.
“I also learned that at the end of the day, he’s just a crazy guy, he just likes to have fun. He’s carefree. I remember his favorite saying, ‘It is what it is,’ and I always thought, ‘What the hell does that mean, Matt?’
“I’m carefree, but not so much that I don’t have any plans, and sometimes he would just go away for hours. I’d say, ‘Where have you been?’ and he’d say, ‘Oh! I’m just wandering around.’