British champion Alastair Chalmers says he is “absolutely gutted” to have missed out on the final of the men’s 400m hurdles at the European Championships.
The 24-year-old from Guernsey set a new personal best as he finished third in his semi-final – with only the top two guaranteed a place in the final.
Chalmers, who was drawn in the outside lane, led for more than 300 metres before being caught by Estonia’s Rasmus Maegi and Sweden’s Carl Bengtstrom.
His time of 48.76 seconds was the ninth-fastest across the semis, meaning the visibly upset Chalmers missed out on a place in the eight-man final.
The time was also just 0.06 seconds off the qualifying mark needed for the Olympics in Paris this summer.
“I’m absolutely gutted,” Chalmers told BBC Guernsey.
“I’ve taken a lot of pride in how I ran that race, and running a PB against those kind of athletes was just amazing.
“But to run 48.76 and not make the final is pretty crazy, and being six hundredths off the Olympic standard is cruel as well, so it’s pretty difficult.”
