Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers’ Seb Rodger recorded a season’s best in the 400m hurdles semi-final last night (Wednesday) but could not secure a place in the final of the European Championships.

Rodger, 23, ran a time of 49.47 to finish fourth in heat one, narrowly missing out on a place in Friday’s final.

Russian Denis Kudryavtsev qualified in first place with a time of 49.09, with Germany’s Varg Konigsmark coming home in second with 49.12.

Harriers team-mate Richard Morrissey, representing Ireland, finished sixth in the semi-finals of the 400m.

A time of 46.64 was not enough to steer the 23-year-old into tomorrow’s final in Zurich.