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Derbyshire runs fifth-best British 400m hurdles time

Seamus Derbyshire in full stride moves over the hurdles in a 400m hurdles raceGetty Images

Only four other British men have run faster than Seamus Derbyshire over 400m hurdles

Dan Wheeler
BBC Sport, West Midlands
Samantha Fletcher
BBC Radio Stoke

Great Britain's Seamus Derbyshire said becoming the fifth-fastest British man ever to run the 400m hurdles is "mind-boggling".

The 25-year-old clocked 48.47 seconds at a meeting in Prague on Monday to not only smash his personal best but also make the qualification standard for the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.

Kriss Akabusi set the British record of 47.82 set at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.

"It was point eight of a second quicker than I've ever run before, which you don't get to be like that very often," Derbyshire said.

"So I knew it was good, but it was crazy and I was in shock. I couldn't comprehend it in the moment."

'I'd never believe it in a million years'

Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles bronze medallist Alastair Chalmers, Joshua Faulds, a bronze medallist, along with Chalmers, in the 4x400m mixed relay at the European Indoor Championships in February, and European U20 4x400m relay champion Jake Minshull have all run sub-49 seconds this year, with Derbyshire now top of the list.

The City of Stoke Athletics Club member, and silver medallist at the European Under-20 Championships in 2019, also moved past Chalmers in the all-time British list.

"The event is in such a strong place in the UK at the moment," Derbyshire told BBC Radio Stoke.

"So that, as a stat, is mind-boggling.

"I started athletics 11 years ago and if you'd told me then this is how good I could potentially be I would never ever believe it in a million years.

"It's like living the dream."

Only Chris Rawlinson, David Hemery, David Greene and Akabusi have run faster than Derbyshire who is open-minded about how close he can get to the British record.

"I'm making my way up and I've jumped from 29th to 5th and it's a huge leap in one race," Derbyshire said.

"My training has been different to what I've done before and that has kept me quite fresh.

"Everything I was doing was suggesting I was getting quicker and stronger. It's the first year with a new coach and training set-up, so who knows">