'They now want to be the next Matt Hudson-Smith'

Speaking a a day after his 400m final, Matt Hudson-Smith said he would "keep representing and doing us proud and keep going"

University staff who taught and supported Olympic 400m silver medallist Matt Hudson- Smith have spoken of their pride at his achievement and belief he has inspired others.

Hudson-Smith, from Wolverhampton, studied a physical education and sports coaching degree at the University of Worcester in 2014.

Charlotte Beaman-Evans, senior lecturer in physical education, said she watched the race "huddled around a phone" on a campsite in Wales.

She said he should not be disheartened at missing out on gold.

Charlotte Beaman-Evans, senior lecturer in physical education at the University of Worcester, said she watched the race "huddled around a phone" on a campsite

"I watched it last night as a mum and as soon as we finished watching the race, my children set up an impromptu 400m course and they argued over who was going to be Matt Hudson-Smith," she said.

"That to me is the impact of Matt last night - they didn't care what colour the medal was.

"In fact, I don't think they cared if he'd won a medal at all, but from a child's perspective, they now want to be the next Matt Hudson-Smith, which I think is more powerful than anything."

The 29-year-old finished in 43.44 seconds but was pipped to the line by US athlete Quincy Hall.

"We were, probably along with the rest of the nation, really believing Matt could do it," Ms Beaman-Evans added.

"In all honesty, a silver is already pretty outstanding so let's not be disheartened by this and put this into perspective and silver is unbelievable in itself."

Speaking on Thursday, the athlete said he was proud to represent his home city of Wolverhampton on the world stage and was keen to help the "next crop" of young athletes through.

"I think everyone from Wolverhampton and the Midlands is beaming with joy really… I’ll keep representing and doing us proud and keep going," he said.

Mick Donovan, pro vice-chancellor at the university who was also head of sport when Hudson-Smith was a student there, said he was "typical Matthew" in how he attacked the race.

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Mick Donovan, pro vice-chancellor at the university who was also head of sport when Hudson-Smith was a student there, said he was "typical Matthew" in how he attacked the race.

"I actually thought he's not going to be caught this time, it was literally on the line" he said.

He said everyone was proud of him and proud of "playing a part in his early career".

"He'd just done well at the Commonwealth Games in about 2013/14 and he came to us as a student," he said.

"He was then made offers at various other universities, but his mates were at Worcester so he wanted to come to Worcester, so we supported him in his degree.

"He was flying off to Beijing and doing essays and things like that.... so we were really proud as we'd seen his journey from the age of 18 really."

His life revolved around being in lectures when not travelling for events, while travelling to Wolverhampton to train most evenings, then preparing for events or up early for flights, he said.

"While doing all of that as a full-time athlete, he was a full-time student, so he did incredibly well," he added.

Hudson-Smith was narrowly beaten on the 400m metre final on Wednesday