Podcast #69: Tyri Donovan overcoming injury to become national champion
In the latest episode of the England Athletics Podcast, England senior 400m hurdles champion Tyri Donovan describes how he recovered from a serious injury to have his best ever season this year. CEO Chris Jones also joins the show to reflect on a successful summer and assess the current priorities for those working in the sport domestically.
Donovan tells the story of discovering he had a prolapsed disc, leaving him with the decision of whether to have surgery, which could have led to a longer spell on the sidelines.
The 26-year-old decided to forge his own recovery plan, under the guidance of his coach Marina Armstrong, and ended up taking 1.4 seconds off his personal best in 2024. His time of 49.23 seconds was also a National Athletics League record for his club Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow, breaking the previous best time set by Olympian Chris Rawlinson in 1999.
“I went through this season knowing ‘whatever happens, happens’ and thankfully what’s happened has been incredible,” said Donovan, who is also a guitar-playing songwriter.
Mentioning his dream of making it to the Commonwealth Games with Team England in 2026, he also paid tribute to his long-time coach Armstrong, who has helped the likes of Jessie Knight, Chris McAlister and Jacob Paul get up to international standard.
“Coaches probably don’t get enough respect in the whole community of track. They’re always down there every single day, out in the cold, just doing what they've got to do," said Donovan.
“There’s not going to be many people in your life, who are so dedicated to their craft, that they want you to be the best you can be as a person, and as an athlete,” he added.
Chris Jones shares his delight at Olympic and Paralympic performances, before discussing the ongoing focuses for the governing body.
"It's wonderful to see quite a few athletes that have come through the English talent pathway perform for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Paris...but also English athletes competing well at the European Under-18s and then domestically,"
"We have commissioned a wider track and field review, which the four home countries are working collaboratively on. That's fundamentally important - not just looking at aspects such as age groups, but also competition organisation, delivery, travel time - the whole athlete experience."
The episode can be listened to in full on Spotify, as well as Soundcloud and Apple Podcasts.