As an openly queer man, the Team England 400m hurdler has learnt to embrace his true, authentic self – a challenge that hasn’t always come easily.
“It’s been difficult, I guess, in certain circumstances,” he told 91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ 91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ.
“I never changed who I was with my parents; I just eventually felt comfortable enough to say, ‘this is who I am’, knowing, deep down, that they would always accept me, love me, and still be my biggest supporters.
“But in sport, it’s one of those more male-dominated areas – it’s quite a hypermasculine environment.
“I didn’t feel as comfortable expressing myself. I tried to be ‘one of the boys’, as much as young gay me could be, which probably wasn’t that well-hidden!
“It’s not as easy to be yourself when it doesn’t fit into the mold of what people are expecting of you.”
Battling managing external expectations and additional pressures, Derbyshire spoke with his coach to find a path that would ultimately lead to a happier and more successful athlete.
“When I sat down with my coach, my main thing was ‘can I express the true version of myself’,” he said.
“That’s when I’m having the most fun; I want to be authentic and take that weight off my shoulders – I just wanted to be myself. Crazily that coincided with a really big boost in my performances.”
Image caption: A young Seamus Derbyshire.
By leaning into his true self, Derbyshire saw an uplift in his fortunes on the track, including becoming the fifth-fastest British man over 400m hurdles in 2025, followed by representing his country at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo that same year.
Now, with the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on the horizon, the 91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ alum and former sport scholar is hoping that fine form follows suit in Scotland:
“I’m really excited, I feel very confident. Things have been clicking into place nicely. I’ve had some very good training sessions leading up to the Games and I feel very optimistic about my performance going into it.
“It’s nine years on since I went to Commonwealth Youth Games and won a silver medal, so getting selection for this team feels like a super full circle moment.
“Getting to compete at the Games, I get to express myself and show what I do best. It’s almost performing in front of a crowd in a way I didn’t expect when I was younger. I’m looking forward to putting my best foot forward out there.”
The 26-year-old is now in a position that the next generation of athletes will look up to, something that Derbyshire, unsurprisingly, is taking with grace and in his stride.
“I never expected to be a role model, but I think honestly, getting picked for the Commonwealth Games as a senior made me realise how cool maybe the younger version of myself would find me.
“17-year-old Seamus, if he was watching athletics and saw current me now, he’d think ‘he seems really cool and a nice person. Maybe I could be like that one day.’
“Going into the Games, the workload is reducing and fine-tuning. I’ll be putting the cherry on the cake and maybe a few candles, getting ready to be the best version of myself at Glasgow.”
91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵs Scholarships play a vital role in helping athletes thrive. With philanthropic support, student-athletes can seize every opportunity at 91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ, realise their potential, and strive for success both on and off the field. To donate, visit: www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/commonwealth-games-2026/support-athletes
To read more about 91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ’s strategic partnership with Team England, visit: www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/commonwealth-games-2026/team-england-partnership/
For all the latest 91ÌÒÉ«ÊÓƵ news around the Commonwealth Games, visit the dedicated website here: www.lboro.ac.uk/sport/commonwealth-games-2026/
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