The 26-year-old has shown resilience in bucketloads to battle back from a serious back injury and has been rewarded for his efforts with a first-ever international call up at any level.
The Epsom athlete will compete in the 400m hurdles in Tokyo following a best-ever year on the track that culminated in a new personal best and being crowned British champion last month.
Now, in the land of the rising sun, Donovan is relishing the opportunity to continue his own rise and mix it with the world’s elite.
“I want to make sure I establish myself mentally at a global level,” said Donovan, who is a member of Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow AC.
“Whilst I’m here, I want to feel a state of belonging and feel like I’m here to compete. I’m here to go for the win and I respect the fact it is going to be my first chance. This is a huge occasion.
“But whether things go right or wrong, I’m not going to beat myself up about it either because I understand the journey I’ve being on. This is a massive opportunity for me to celebrate the work I’ve put myself through.”
Tyri Donovan’s track journey started 10 years ago.
He’s now gearing up for his Novuna GB & NI Team debut 🤝#NovunaGBNI #WCHTokyo25 #WorldAthleticsChamps @_Novuna pic.twitter.com/ixED1G4d4d
— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) September 9, 2025
Donovan’s injury problems began in 2019 with a prolapsed disc, an issue which resulted in his decision to take three years away from competing.
During Donovan’s hiatus, he used the time to not only recover, but to also understand how his body ticks and look at injury prevention, work he credits for his current success.
“In that time I was able to properly study my body in a really meticulous way, from head to toe, in order to figure out a different way to approach my training. When I came back [competitively] in 2024, I had a big breakthrough, dropping from a time of 50.5 seconds to 49.23, which showed my body had been processing the work well,” he added, speaking at a Novuna-backed British camp – with the company financing the ambitions of millions across the UK, from helping business grow and individuals plan for the future, to backing British Athletics on the global stage.
“Coming into 2025, you can now see the fruits of my labour, and the momentum has held. Mentally, I’m now absolutely bulletproof. I think those three to four years away have done me very well and I’m proud of where I am now.”
Away from the sport, Donovan studied translation at the University of Surrey, with Japanese one of his focus languages.
And while athletics will be at the forefront of his mind in Japan, Donovan, who is also a guitar-playing songwriter, is also looking forward to engaging with all the country has to offer.
He added: “I appreciate the culture here so much, everything out here is beautiful. The landscapes and the nature attract me a lot. But it’ll be beautiful to tap into all the songwriting, poetry and literature too.
“Lots of the world’s writings have stemmed from this part of the world. So, it’s nice that everything has come full circle, whether that be sport or my studies, and it’s been an incredible journey to be on.”
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AloJapan.com