PRIOR TO THE OUTDOOR SEASON’S getting underway, you could have been forgiven for thinking that ’19 World Championships 800 gold medalist Donovan Brazier had just quietly retired without much fanfare.
Indeed, many people did.
A quick look around various track fan sites confirms that was the prevailing impression in some quarters, and not without reason.
Little had been heard from Brazier since ’23, when he talked to a few media outlets, including T&FN, to give an update on his injuries. He hadn’t raced in almost three years since crashing out of the ’22 WC 800 heats.
It’s doubtful Brazier would even have been running there at all if it hadn’t been for the fact those champs were taking place in Eugene and that he had a Wild Card after winning in Doha back in ’19, the year before the pandemic. By July of ’22 Brazier was already struggling with Achilles problems and had managed just a pair of disappointing 800 starts that season before Worlds.
This injury also came in the wake of a fractured tibia which ended his ’21 season after he came home 8th in the Olympic Trials 800 final.
Further injuries, and surgeries, followed during ’23, notably to correct a heel problem.
At the end of that year, he also parted ways with coach Pete Julian and the Union Athletics Club in Oregon and for this season’s return to racing he has been working at altitude in Arizona.
Last year came and went with little news of the affable Michigander who won the ’16 NCAA title while a Texas A&M Aggie.
In the meantime, more new names came to the fore: Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi was crowned the ’24 Olympic champion and Bryce Hoppel, in placing 4th in the Paris final, reduced Brazier’s American Record of 1:42.34, set at Doha ’19.
However, Brazier announced his return in early June with a low-key win in 1:44.70 in Nashville, posting his best time since the ’21 indoor season.
He then showed everyone a clean pair of heels a week later with a 1:43.81 outing at the Portland Track Festival.
Jumping into a loaded field at the London Diamond League, there were no great expectations on Brazier’s shoulders after what were effectively a brace of time trials.
Nevertheless, he showed his racing instinct against top-quality opposition was still basically there, albeit a little rusty as he had to settle for 6th.
It was an emotional return to the London Stadium, where Brazier had one of his first international races in the ’17 DL and then a month later contested the WC, in which he reached the semis.
Crossing the line this time in 1:43.08, his fastest time for nearly 5 years, there was a big grin on his face that advertised Brazier knew he really was back among the big boys.
“Place-wise, no I’m not happy. But timewise, I’ve got to be very happy with this race,” said a delighted Brazier after the London race. “If you’d have told me two months ago I’d be running this sort of time I’d have probably said ‘You’re lying!’
“But to run this sort of time and still finish 6th, it just shows how good the 800 guys are. It’s a top-heavy event right now with a lot of good guys, and I’m going to need to step up my game a little bit.”
“I’ve been working with coach Mike Smith up in Flagstaff and doing some good work, but I didn’t really start doing good work until April.”
“He said ‘There are no expectations, don’t expect too much, don’t put any pressure on yourself when it comes to what you can do this year.’ But every race, I’ve gotten a little better, so my expectations have gotten a little higher.
“Standing on the start line [in London] there were nerves, adrenaline, but also gratitude as I didn’t know I’d ever be in anything like this again.
“But I’ve now got to start putting those feelings behind me, be in the moment and be competitive with the guys around me.”
The question obviously begs, did Brazier ever think about just hanging up his spikes and just hanging a ‘Gone Fishing’ sign — one of Brazier’s favorite pastimes — on the locker room door after a brutally challenging three years?
“I’d say that at some points [during ’23 and ’24] I was more likely to not come back than to come back but towards the end [of last year] I started to get my stride back, my power back and my fluency so it was kinda hard to let it go.
“I’m only 28 and I feel I’ve got a lot of good years ahead of me. When you look down the all-time list, there are guys running 1:42s that are well into their 30s and that gives me hope.
“However, although a lot of older guys are running fast there is a feeling that this is a young man’s game right now, but I know I have a lot more to give.
“Things are now falling into place ahead of the Trials. My expectations have changed race by race. During this race [in London] I was getting in with some guys and getting bashed around a bit. It was nice to re-learn maneuvering; I got caught up with some bodies so hopefully I’ll make better tactical decisions next time.
“I still definitely feel as though I’ve got a PR still in my legs. At 28, I don’t think I’d be still doing this if I didn’t believe that was the case.
“After this race, I can dream a little and that wouldn’t have been the case just over a month ago.”
The dreams now come into focus with the U.S. Champs and making the top three to qualify for Tokyo in September. If he succeeds this will be his fourth World Champs.
It’s certainly not going to be easy for the ’17 and ’19 USATF winner to make the podium in Eugene.
Hoppel finished two places in front of Brazier in London in 1:42.71 while Josh Hoey also overtook Brazier on the U.S. all-time list when he ran 1:42.01 in Monaco earlier in July. That pair will start as favorites to book a ticket to the Japanese capital.
Jonah Koech and Brandon Miller have also run under 1:44 this summer and, at the time of writing, another 8 Americans have gone under 1:45 even though some of them like Yared Nuguse are likely to be running other events.
However, our most recent formchart has Brazier slated for 3rd and, as he said, “Two months ago, if you’d have told me that, I wouldn’t have believed you.”
