Yes. injuries..what? Brazier is almost the definition of a flash in the pan. He did absolutely phenomenal things for a very short time, but part of talent is staying healthy longer. Grant wasn't doing world class training when he was 19-22yo, DB was. So Grant's progression will be slower. Will Grant ever win a gold? I don't know, but he's inching closer and having fun doing it. Running aside, let's not forget the degree he got from Stanford, that will ultimately make him more successful in his later years. Talent takes many shapes. Maybe Donavan has a talent for putting on pounds and getting injured trying to shed them.
Just watching them run tells you a lot. Here we are years later and Brazier, after 1:43.55, took some steps back but with more aerobic development--he barely ran any mileage in hs and not much at A and M--he is world champion with a championship record. He ran 3:37 this year in one attempt after 3:59 the previous campaign in one attempt indoors in December. As a miler, he has a lot of untapped potential still and I would not be surprised at all to see him run in the low 3:30s at the least. That Michigan coach really knew what he was seeing. Meanwhile, Grant Fisher became a very good college guy and may well have a good future in the 5000m, 13:07-8 is in the cards next year.
jjjjj wrote:
Brazier looks very easy, a big easy stride, just needing to straighten out his footplant, which as was pointed out goes way across his middle, and he has plenty of room for aerobic development. He will be a monster in college. Wetzel is all over the place with his arms and torso, which should be easily correctable in college with ab work, weights, and form drills. Fisher is super-efficient with a very tight arm carriage, very short arm swing, and a lower ceiling at 1500m/mile than Brazier, it seems to me, but a great future at higher distances, 5000m-10000m, as his mileage builds. As for Brazier, he'll have to do the work and stay healthy to realize that future, so who knows? But at 1:48 already, if he adds aerobic work, he'll be impressive.