Diverted, the late runner, say (7)
I believe the answer is:
athlete
'runner say' is the definition.
(runner is a kind of athlete)
'diverted the late' is the wordplay.
'diverted' indicates an anagram (letters must be diverted to different positions).
'the'+'late'='thelate'
'thelate' with letters rearranged gives 'ATHLETE'.
(Other definitions for athlete that I've seen before include "Person who competes in sports" , "Track and field competitor" , "One may run" , "eg Dean Macey" , "E.g. runner or jumper" .)