{"id":1040006195,"date":"2025-07-27T09:12:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T08:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/?p=1040002744"},"modified":"2025-08-01T08:46:33","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T07:46:33","slug":"a-lap-with-seamus-derbyshire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/a-lap-with-seamus-derbyshire-1040006195\/","title":{"rendered":"A lap with Seamus Derbyshire"},"content":{"rendered":"

We talk to the British 400m hurdler who has made Tokyo a realistic target<\/p>\n

When Seamus Derbyshire crossed the line, he looked at the clock and couldn\u2019t quite believe his eyers. \u201cI screamed,\u201d he tells <\/span>AW<\/span><\/i>, still a little in disbelief.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Josef Odlozil Memorial in June, the 25-year-old took almost a second off his personal best in the 400m hurdles, bettering his mark of 49.29 with 48.47 in the Czech Republic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Not only did he go fifth on the UK 400m hurdles all-time list \u2013 now sixth after Alastair Chalmers ran 48.30 \u2013 but the Brit also secured the automatic qualification standard (48.50) for this year\u2019s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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\u201cI knew what I was capable of but for it to have occurred so early in the season was amazing,\u201d Derbyshire says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect but that was above expectations. It was overwhelming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say it was really quick but when you\u2019re running well it was effortless. In my mind, I didn\u2019t feel I over exerted at any point. I knew it was something good but didn\u2019t realise just how good it would be.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Even though Derbyshire has hit form in the early stages of this outdoor season, he believes there is much more to give and his race rhythm isn\u2019t perfect. The improvements, he believes, are down to him having taken some time out last year to focus on himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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He was part of a training group under Nick Dakin but stepped away and now, under the watchful eye of Alex O\u2019Gorman, works by himself. Dakin still helps Derbyshire with his hurdling but the change of scenery has paid dividends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI had a lot of things going on in my personal life and then I had the stress of athletics,\u201d says Derbyshire. \u201cIt got to the point where it wasn\u2019t bringing me any fun at all and I was very down and anxious about everything. It\u2019s a shame as I felt in shape last season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the time out allowed me to put a lot of energy into different facets of my life. My coaching set-up was really good but I feel like I personally got into bad habits in how I viewed things.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNick and Alex both give me feedback and it\u2019s a great collaborative effort. I truly think I find a lot from within. If it\u2019s cold, wet and I\u2019m tired, that energy comes from within myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Derbyshire, who spent six days a week doing gymnastics growing up, switched to athletics in 2014 and since then has secured 400m hurdles silver medals at English Schools, Commonwealth Youth Games, European U20 Championships and UK Athletics Championships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Could the next step be representing Great Britain at this year\u2019s World Athletics Championships? Both Derbyshire and Chalmers have the automatic qualification standard, while Josh Faulds\u2019 48.59 means he is under the UKA consideration standard [48.70] for Tokyo. <\/span>(Note, this article was written in June 2025).<\/em><\/p>\n

With Jake Minshull clocking 48.88 in May, it\u2019s the first time in history that four male British athletes have gone under 49 seconds in one season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI recognise the depth of talent in the 400m hurdles right now and I feel like it\u2019s been a long time coming,\u201d says Derbyshire. \u201cTimes which were winning the UK Athletics Championships a few years ago don\u2019t quite cut it now.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToyko is a target now. I feel if it happens, it\u2019ll be the accumulation of a lot of hard work. When I started athletics 11 years ago, I never thought that would be a possibility and I\u2019m blessed for the opportunities. I\u2019d just relish it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy main aim for this year was just to enjoy myself and have fun, while expressing my most authentic self on the track. As silly as it sounds, that\u2019s literally interacting with people before the race. It\u2019s so much more representative of myself rather than portraying a character that\u2019s constantly serious. But it\u2019s got me to where I am today.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you could choose one person to train\/compete with, past or present, who would it be and why?<\/b><\/p>\n

I was lucky enough to get to train with Martyn Rooney towards the end of his career but I\u2019d have loved to have trained with him in his prime. His knowledge would have been so valuable and he\u2019s doing great work with the relays now.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We talk to the British 400m hurdler who has made Tokyo a realistic target<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":579563,"featured_media":1040005988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","inline_featured_image":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_championship":0,"wds_primary_country":0,"wds_primary_sports":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,12],"tags":[],"championship":[],"country":[],"sports":[35998],"class_list":["post-1040006195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","category-news","sports-400m-hurdles"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/a-lap-with-seamus-derbyshire-1040006195\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"A lap with Seamus Derbyshire","url":"http:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/a-lap-with-seamus-derbyshire-1040006195\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/news\/a-lap-with-seamus-derbyshire-1040006195\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Seamus-Derbyshire-scaled-1-200x300.jpg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Seamus-Derbyshire-scaled-1-scaled.jpg"},"articleSection":"Interviews","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tim Adams"}],"creator":["Tim Adams"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Athletics Weekly","logo":"https:\/\/athleticsweekly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AW-logo_with-website.png"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-07-27T08:12:50Z","datePublished":"2025-07-27T08:12:50Z","dateModified":"2025-08-01T07:46:33Z"},"rendered":"