Seamus Derbyshire sashays towards track stardom

Portraits by Richard Saker 

The suggested video was not of Derbyshire finishing second in the race, but standing on the startline being introduced to the crowd. At the sound of his name, Derbyshire performs an exemplary ‘toss, toss’ of his hair that might have made Wicked’s Glinda proud. He then exuberantly blows a smattering of kisses to the camera, forms his hands into a love-heart shape and throws in one more theatrical pose for good measure.

Depending on your knowledge of pop culture, there is a fair chance you might not be familiar with the Wicked ‘toss, toss’, nor Charli xcx’s song 365, which Derbyshire also referenced on the startline before a previous race. Both have particular resonance within the gay community and neither are common sights in the poker-faced, macho world of men’s sport.

When Derbyshire did what he did in London it caught attention. And when he does so again at the World Championships next month it will doubtless amplify. An openly gay sportsman displaying their true selves on the highest sporting stage is a rare thing.

Derbyshire, 25, has been fully devoted to athletics for the past three years, remaining in Loughborough after graduating from university there, while making ends meet working in a cafe round the corner from his simple town-centre flat: pride flag in the hallway, original Harry Potter books stacked underneath the TV, holiday pictures framed on the window sill.

The sport has brought irregular international appearances in the form of a Commonwealth Youth Games medal and European Championships semi-final. But a bout of anxiety and complications with his training set-up effectively wrote off 2024, prompting a fresh outlook and the addition of a new coach for this year. When the two of them sat down together, Derbyshire stated a simple goal: “To present my authentic self, embrace who I am and stop playing up a character who felt they needed to act in a certain way.”

The history of openly gay men in British sport is not extensive. Across England’s four men’s professional football tiers, not one currently active player is known to be homosexual. In other sports, diver Tom Daley and athlete Tom Bosworth are notable among the few who have been openly gay when still competing.

Derbyshire has never hidden his sexuality, but until this year there had effectively been two versions of himself: the fun-loving figure away from the track and the suppressed athlete on it.

“Sport is a serious environment and I thought I needed to be seen to be taking it seriously,” said Derbyshire.

“It never occurred to me that I could be like this; I thought I had to fall in line with the norm and not break it. So, on competition day, I would have my game face on. It would cause me so much anxiety and stress, standing there looking really intense and feeling miserable. Competition was such a crippling environment for me.”

As a keen sportsman in his youth, first in gymnastics and then athletics, Derbyshire had long been aware of being different.

“It’s such a high-testosterone, masculine environment and I don’t bring that energy,” he said.

“When I was younger, I couldn’t connect to competitors and be ‘one of the boys’ because I wouldn’t fit in. I’m lucky that it never put me off, but it has, at times, made me feel the odd one out.

“But I’ve always felt like I’ve belonged in the sporting environment because I work hard, I’m dedicated to the craft, and I put a lot of time and effort in. Of course I’m deserving.”

With the dancing, air kisses, flamboyance and fun of this year’s new approach, he has jettisoned how he felt elite sportsmen should behave and replaced it with whatever makes him comfortable.

“I guess it is a bit more out there for sport but, for me, this is just what I’m like,” he said.  “So it doesn’t feel like I’m doing anything super extreme. It doesn’t compute in my mind that I could be the first person to be so outwardly expressive during sport in a way that some people may deem as camp. It’s just me trying to feel as comfortable as possible.”

The response has been slightly overwhelming for someone who has never been sponsored, nor received UK Athletics funding: hundreds of thousands of views on social media, posts from fellow athletes lauding his actions, and messages from strangers about feeling inspired.

Alongside the “mind-boggling” positive feedback he has received – the bulk of it – there has also been abuse.

“There was one TikTok that definitely hit the wrong side of the internet,” he explains.

“All the comments were basically just telling me to fly somewhere where being gay is illegal so I would be killed. I’ve never been subjected to homophobic abuse before so it’s made me realise how present it still is.

“Just because someone is saying that about me, it’s not going to make me dim my light and go back to the way I was because I’m doing so much better being like this.”

That is the crux; the ultimate response to any haters. This year, Derbyshire has been a revelation, navigating 30-hour weeks in the cafe to take almost a second off his personal best and move within sight of British 400m hurdles greats Kriss Akabusi, Dai Greene and David Hemery. On Tuesday, he was selected in the British team for his first global championships, where his new track freedom is bound to make an even bigger impact.

“I’m doing what I’m doing, but I’m backing it up,” he said.

“I’m not putting my personality to the forefront because I don’t have anything else going for me. I’m running well and performing well because I’m comfortable in my own skin.“I don’t have to switch into ‘race Seamus’ or ‘family and friends Seamus’ or ‘media Seamus’. Everyone just gets the same me now, whether I’m racing or sitting at home with my parents watching Saturday night TV. It’s all just me.”