by Deji Ogeyingbo
This is Deji Ogeyingbo’s feature on Donavan Brazier, the 2019 World Champion, who has spent several years coming back from tough injuries, to running two world class 800m times over a week’s time.
Donavan Brazier’s Long Way Back to running Fast
The race was fast, but the return has been anything but.
For Donavan Brazier, Sunday night’s 800m win at the Portland Track Festival didn’t just mark a return to the top five of American middle-distance running. It felt like a moment of quiet redemption and maybe a signal that the long, painful road he’s been on may finally be starting to curve upward again.
Clocking 1:43.81, Brazier delivered his fastest performance in nearly four years. He closed with a blistering 51.07-second final lap, surging past the field in a way that felt both familiar and surprising. The Brazier of 2019, the world champion who once made two laps look like one smooth move, was suddenly back. But behind the stopwatch and clean splits is a man who’s had to relearn the sport from the inside out.
“I wasn’t probably the most pleasant person to be around these past three years,” Brazier admitted after the race, a rare window into the emotional grind of his comeback. Since last competing in 2022, he has undergone three surgeries on his foot, shuffled training groups, and watched as a new crop of American half-milers sprinted past him in the rankings.
The Brazier who lined up in Portland wasn’t just trying to win a race. He was trying to see if he still belonged.
Turns out, he does.
Two weeks ago, Brazier ran 1:44.70 in Nashville. It was solid, but didn’t exactly shift the balance of the top guys in the 800m in the US, not least globally. Josh Hoey and Bryce Hoppel have been consistently sharper this year, and a few others such as Jonah Koech, Brandon Miller have all gone faster. Sunday changed things. His Sub-1:44 run is a big statement run. Surely, Brazier is back in the conversation.
That’s a big deal in an event where fractions of a second decide not just races but careers.
“I have a lot of great guys to compete with,” Brazier said. “It’s gotten so great these last few years, so I’m just trying to keep up at this point.”
There’s humility in that, and maybe a bit of strategy. Brazier isn’t trying to talk his way into a medal. He knows that his body has taken a beating and that the sport doesn’t slow down for anyone, not even a world champion. But there’s something deeper happening here. Something that suggests Brazier, now 27, might be settling into the type of athlete who knows exactly how hard it is to stay relevant and still wants it.
He credits some of that growth to his new coach, Mike Smith. Based in Flagstaff, Smith has become a go-to name in American distance running. Just days ago, his athlete, Nico Young broke the American record in the 5,000 meters. It’s a different training environment for Brazier, and from the outside, a healthier one.
“I’m not so hard-headed anymore,” Brazier said. “If I’m not feeling great, I just don’t run.”
Simple words, but ones that come from hard-earned experience. That willingness to back off is what might keep him healthy enough to make another Olympic team or even make a run at a medal. Because while he’s fifth-fastest among Americans this year, no one else in that group has Brazier’s combination of experience and raw talent. He still holds the American record. He still has that kick.
The road ahead isn’t guaranteed. Hoey ran 1:42.43 in Stockholm earlier the same day Brazier raced in Portland. Hoppel has been steady. The U.S. Trials will be brutal, and the standard unforgiving. But the difference now is that Brazier seems ready for the long haul. There’s no panic in his voice. No rush. Just a quiet belief that he’s finding his rhythm again.
Donavan Brazier was one of our very first #SocialingtheDistance Interviews, from Spring 2020. We began this series as the pandemic was happening. It is a fascinating interview:
