Alastair Chalmers (born 31 March 2000) is a British

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today ...

who specialises in the

400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic Sport of athletics, athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a ...

. He won Guernsey's first-ever

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

track and field medal when he took bronze at the 2022 edition and he is a five-time British 400m hurdles champion.

Athletics career

Chalmers was part of the gold medal-winning Guernsey 4x100 metres relay team at the 2015 Island Games in Jersey. He also received a gold for the 4x400 metres relay having run in the heats but missing out on selection for the final. He won gold in the

at the 2017 Island Games in

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

, before repeating the feat a month later at the

2017 Commonwealth Youth Games The 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games, officially known as the VI Commonwealth Youth Games, and commonly known as Bahamas 2017, or Nassau 2017, was the sixth edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games which started in 2000. The games were held from 19 to ...

in the Bahamas. Chalmers came sixth in the 400 metres hurdles and won a bronze medal as part of the Great Britain 4x400 metres relay team at the

2018 IAAF World U20 Championships The 2018 World Athletics U20 Championships, World U20 Championships in Athletics, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 1999) ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, Finland. He won his first British 400 metres hurdles title at the 2020 national championships in a time of 49.66 secs. Chalmers reached the semi-finals of the

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, USA. On 6 August 2022, he won the first-ever track and field medal for Guernsey in the history of the

when he claimed bronze at the 22nd edition of the event in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. In July 2023, Chalmers took more than half a second off the championship record to win the 400m hurdles at the

Island Games The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent ...

held in Guernsey. He went on to win a second gold of the event in the 4x400 metres relay with the Guernsey team setting another Games record in the process. At the

2024 European Athletics Championships The 26th European Athletics Championships were held from 7 to 12 June 2024 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. It was the third time Italy staged this sporting event after the inaugural 1934 European Athletics Championships, 1934 edition in T ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, he set a new Guernsey 400 metres hurdles record but went out in the semi-finals. Chalmers won his fifth successive British 400 metres hurdles title at the 2024 British Athletics Championships on 30 June 2024, setting a new personal best, and championship record, of 48.54 seconds to put himself in line for a spot at the Paris Olympics. His place at the Games was confirmed on 5 July 2024, when Team GB announced their athletics team. Chalmers finished third in his heat to qualify for the semi-finals at the Games. In the semi-finals he hit a hurdle around 150 metres from the finish line and fell to the track, and although he got up to complete the race, he finished eighth and did not progress to the final. He was named Outstanding Performer of the Year at the 2024 Guernsey Sports Commission Awards. Chalmers won the bronze medal in the 400 metres at the 2025 British Indoor Athletics Championships, setting a new personal best of 46.84 secs in the semi-finals. He was subsequently selected for the Great Britain 4x400 metres relay squad to take part in the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships. Chalmers won a bronze medal as part of the British team in the mixed relay on the first day of the competition. On 8 June 2025, Chalmers set a new 400 metres hurdles personal best, recording 48.30 secs to take first place at the Weltklasse Rehlingen in Germany.

Personal life

Chalmers gained a degree in Sports Performance from the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

. His brother Cameron is also an athlete who has represented Guernsey and Great Britain in international competition.

References

External links

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Alastair Chalmers
at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalmers, Alastair 2000 births Living people Alumni of the University of Bath Guernsey male hurdlers British male hurdlers Commonwealth Games competitors for Guernsey Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Guernsey Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games British Athletics Championships winners People educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey People from Saint Peter Port Olympic athletes for Great Britain 21st-century British sportsmen Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics