Dream Debut For Donovan In The 400m Hurdles On Day 3 At The World Athletics Championships
15th September 2025Tyri Donovan enjoyed a dream Novuna Great Britain & Northern Ireland debut at the World Athletics Championships with a personal best in the men’s 400m hurdles.
Donovan (Marina Armstrong, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) clocked 48.26s to automatically qualify in second place for the semi-finals with an assured performance on the occasion of his first-ever GB & NI vest.
“This is what this sport is about, being gutsy and trying to be brave and that is what I have been working on this summer,” he said. “Making sure I am being patient to ensure I have that strength down in the last 100m.
“Credit to my team and the British Athletics staff this week, I am new to this squad, and everyone has been so welcoming and kind which really settles me into that environment to perform.
“You try to make sure you are in that [PB] kind of form but again anything can happen at this stage, I am new to it all.
“I want to take everything in my stride, no pun intended and see where it takes me. Today it gave me a PB, and I am grateful and proud of that.”
Donovan is joined in the semi-finals by Alastair Chalmers (Matt Elias, Guernsey), who ran 48.86s to also automatically qualify.
“It was a great race,” said Chalmers. “I feel like I’ve just been in the ocean I’m that wet but it’s a beautiful atmosphere out there. But wow, it’s hot and humid. I felt good but I didn’t feel like ‘sharp, sharp’. So, I think come the semifinal, I’ll be feeling much better as I’m still getting used to it.”
Seamus Derbyshire (Alex O’Gorman, City of Stoke) ran 49.20s but was unable to progress through his heat.
The evening session also saw Josh Kerr (Danny Mackey, Edinburgh), Jake Wightman (John Hartigan, Edinburgh), and Neil Gourley (Stephen Haas, Giffnock North) all book their places in the men’s 1500m final in a repeat of their joint effort in Doha 2019.
Kerr and Wightman ultimately eased through as the second and third qualifiers in their semifinal, which saw the reigning world champion control the pace for much of the race. Gourley then followed in a scrappy second semi-final, with the Scotsman timing his finish to perfection to claim the sixth and final qualification spot with a photo-finish and ensure a full suite of British athletes in the final.
Tade Ojora (Joanna Hayes, Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow) hit a hurdle early on and was not able to recover, clocking 13.90s in his 110m hurdles heat, which sadly was not enough to progress further.
“I hit the hurdle and threw me off and I couldn’t get back into the race,” he said.
“I expect better from myself; I am better than that, but didn’t show it today. I am very, very disappointed to have come such a long way and had such high expectations and then underperform massively.”