Donavan Brazier is back! Entered for the 800m at Portland Track Festival

Meet is on June 15.

Entries are here:

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Donavan Brazier is 28 years old, he's still got something in the tank I hope! I would honestly be surprised if he ran anything crazy and think he will run anywhere from 1:45-1:47 (1:46.52 if he have to predict). Excited to see what he can do! If somehow simply makes another US team it will be an amazing comeback.

1:51 would not be unexpected or even unwelcome at this point. Then, if healthy, he'd drop time rapidly.

Yeeeeeah boyeeeee

First Sumner now possibly Brazier. Man wouldn’t it be something if both guys make it to 2028 Olympics at home in the USA

Gary Martin entered in the 1500?

I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'm not going to get my hopes up. I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Galen Rupp in the 5K?

Spotted Abdi Nur in the 1500 too.

wait i thought this was a joke he actually is in the 5k

Also Gary Martin, Owen Powell, and Leo Young in the 1500

edit also Josiah Tostenson and Tayvon Kitchen, we could see some fast HS 1500s here. Powell ran 3:56 indoors (worth ~3:38), and he just ran 1:49/4:03 at State. He might get within striking distance of Kessler's record (3:34 set at this same meet actually in 2021). It's a long jump from 3:38 to 3:34, but Kessler went in with a slower PB than Powell (his own 3:57i HS record and maybe some ~3:39s). 3:34 is so good that I feel like you can't expect any HSer to break it, but I think Powell is good enough to at least float the idea. 3:35/3:39 are the auto/minimum qualifying standards for USAs, so it's probably more likely they're shooting for a qualifier.

Very happy to see Brazier back!

Other notables include Rooks in the steeple and Katelyn Tuohy in the 5k!

Brazier doesn't run for fun. 1:46.

1:45.91

Make this post one of the top discussions on the boards! Big news with the NB Boston team but the world champ's comeback should get some spotlight

The 800m is a tough event to come back to after a long absence. I wouldn't be surprised with this type of result, I'd be surprised if it's anything faster than 1:47. That 1:48-1:50 range is probably pretty likely for the first race after so long.

:)

I think Mike Smith will have gotten him right, will definitely need to bust some rust though. I think no faster than 1:45, and no slower than 1:47. I think he could run sub 1:44 by the end of the season.

Stupid to predict considering all i’ve seen is a couple workouts with Craig on Strava, but Engels isn’t doing awful in the 800m right now and I think Brazier could match or beat him.

I'd love to see him recover his form, but I have to admit I'm skeptical. Great story if he does!

I think he’s probably not in the world record conversation anymore, but i’d love to see him get a 1:41.x before all is said and done.

I’ve mentioned this in other threads, but I think 800m runners typically peak between 23-25 not because that’s the true physiological prime window for it, but because 800m training is pretty brutal season after season. It’s also not an event that you need to compound years of consistent aerobic base building to achieve maximum potential like the 5000m or maybe the 1500m. You can get to where you want to be in a year or two of consistent work, and unless you get an injury that’s leaving serious scar tissue in the muscles, speed sticks around and can be redeveloped pretty quickly. Look at Sumner, he’s started training at full volume/effort again fairly recently and he’s already running well up to 600m, and I’m sure just a bit longer for the aerobic side of things to redevelop will see him running well over 800m again. I think one has the potential to run their best performance up to the age of 30. Of course i’m not some physiological authority on the matter, but I think through an optimistic lens it’s totally feasible for Brazier to be a serious contender in the event for the next 2-3 years.

Will he be running on Pure Hate?