After injury HELL, Donavan Brazier returns to the Diamond League for EPIC 800m SHOWDOWN on Saturday in London
By Robert Johnson
US middle-distance fans, I hope you are excited.
American Donavan Brazier, the 2019 world champion at 800 meters, is almost back. Back from injury HELL.
On Saturday in London at 2:15 p.m. local (9:15 a.m. ET), Brazier will toe the line in the men’s 800 meters at the London Diamond League.
It will be his first race on the world’s premier track circuit in more than three years. Brazier’s last Diamond League appearance came on May 13, 2022, in the season opener in Doha, where Brazier was 6th in 1:50.58.
If are looking for the last time the injury-prone Brazier broke 1:50 in a Diamond League 800, you have to go all the way back to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when Brazier racked up wins in Stockolm (1:43.76) and Monaco (1:43.15) in August 2020. But technically, those were promotional events.
When is the last time Donavan Brazier broke 1:50 in a Diamond League 800 that counted in the season-long points race? Nearly six years ago — August 29, 2019, when Brazier won the Diamond League final at Weltklasse Zürich in 1:42.70.
A little over a month later, on October 1, Brazier laid waste to the World Championship final, winning gold by a ridiculous 1.13-second margin in an American record of 1:42.34 in his finest moment, ending the US’s 47-year gold medal drought in the event.
The Brazier splash page on LetsRun was an all-timer
The argument certainly can be made that no athlete on planet Earth was hurt more by the COVID-19 pandemic than Donavan Brazier. Had the Olympics been held on time, he’d likely be forever known as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion. Instead, here we are five years later and one of the greatest 800 runners in US history has never even made an Olympic team.
In 2021, a vicious injury cycle started for Brazier that resulted in at least four surgeries. That year, Brazier was in position to make the Olympic team with 200 meters to go but wound up fading to last place in the Olympic Trials final on what was later revealed to be a broken left tibia. The problem that seemed almost incurable, however was a Haglund’s deformity in his right heel the following year that led to three surgeries (July 2022, February 2023 and July 2023). While struggling with injuries, Brazier didn’t break 1:46 or get out of the first round of Worlds as the defending champion in 2022 and didn’t race at all in 2023 and 2024.
You can be forgiven if you thought Brazier’s career was over. Many fans did: MB: Did Donavan Brazier ever officially retire?
Brazier never retired. What happened was simple: one of the world’s greatest 800 talents got injured. Now, at 28 years old, he is finally healthy again and already among the fastest 800 runners in the United States — his 1:43.81 season’s best from the Portland Track Festival on June 15 ranks him 5th in the US in 2025. Now Brazier will take on the world’s best this weekend. Later this month, he will line up for his first US championships in three years.
The past can’t be changed but when we talked to Brazier in 2023, he told us, “All I really want is a shot.”
And after nearly a six-year wait, Brazier will have that shot on Saturday in London, where he’ll take on the Olympic gold medalist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya, Olympic silver medalist Marco Arop of Canada, and many others (Brazier has the 6th-best pb in the field).
I can’t wait.
Update: I reached out to his coach Mike Smith and asked him a few questions via text. Mike got back to me today so I thought I’d quickly share the exchange with you.
LRC: You told me last month you weren’t expecting the 144 opener. Now he’s run 143 and signing up to race the second fastest man in history. Do you think he’s ready for that level? What has changed? What are your expectations for the race and how has he looked in the last month?
Also I know you told me with your NAU teams you don’t talk about the NCAA’s XC title. With Brazier, what are you focused on? Do you talk to him about USA’s? The US team is super hard to make. What are you guys focusing on a daily basis?
Best of luck.
Here was his reply.
Coach Smith: Hey Robert-
Brazier has continued to look strong without any setbacks since his first competitions. I think the most significant change is now there are plenty of eyes on him, his return to the sport is no longer under the radar. He’s known the spotlight his whole career, this doesn’t seem to affect him.
London DL is only his 3rd race back, so focus is on continuing to be patient with relearning this game, remembering how this feels, problem solving out there. This one is fast and a crowded field, I expect him to have to navigate instincts and emotions on the fly, which is crucial for USA meet. Success for him is just getting another one down!
Yeah, good last question, I think language is important in coaching around a championship. I have not talked to him about making the US team and I probably won’t. But what we will be laser focused on is executing in each of his rounds, including the final round. This event, this year, will reward mindsets and you will see that soon.
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PS. I texted with Brazier’s coach Mike Smith last month a few days after his season-opening win in June 7 in Tennessee in 1:44.70. I asked Smith if he was totally over his injury problems and if Brazier was ready to train like normal moving forward. I also asked him what has been the key to his health and whether the 1:44.70 time surprised him. Here is how he replied:
Everything points to him being 100% healthy right now. He started running in January and I started giving him small workouts in February. Had to build very gradually because he hadn’t run in a few years so very low volume and low risk assignments. I was not expecting that time, because I know exactly what he’s done. That’s one of my favorite things about the sport. Training can attempt to predict this or that but there isn’t a metric on a watch that tells you where someone’s heart will take them inside a race. I have a soft spot in my heart for these athletes that have been through hell and are still standing. I was really happy for him.
Who will be the top American in the 800 in London?
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How fast will Donavan Brazier run on Saturday in London vs Wanyonyi, Arop & Hoppel?
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Donavan Brazier coverage and messageboard talk over the years:
*2015: MB: I just got a text from a top HS coach: “Grant Fisher is not the best kid in Michigan.” LetsRun, meet Donavan Brazier
*2016: Not a Misprint: True Freshman Donavan Brazier Runs 1:43.55 To Win NCAA 800m In One Of The Greatest American Junior Performances Ever
*2016: Growing Pains: How Donavan Brazier Went From Breaking A 50-Year Old NCAA Record To Bombing Out Of The Olympic Trials 21 Days Later
*2019: Letsrun splashpage on the day of Braziers world title *Homepage
*2019: Donavan Brazier Ends America’s 800m Gold Medal Drought In Style, Wins With American Record Time of 1:42.34 No American man
*2023: After Another Surgery in Feb., Donavan Brazier Is Hoping He Gets A Chance to Compete in 2023: “All I Really Want Is a Shot”
*2024: Donavan Brazier Has Left the Nike Union Athletics Club; Had 4th Surgery on Foot in July
*2025: MB: Did Donavan Brazier ever officially retire?
