Max Burgin – winning in Rabat
Max Burgin has always looked like an athlete of great potential. He has struggled with injuries, yet he is only 24. He finished 8th in the 800m at the Paris Olympics in 1:43.84 and sixth at the Tokyo World Champs in 1:42.29. His win at the Rabat Diamond League is arguably his biggest win yet. It was the second DL victory after the win in London in 2023*.
What made the victory in Rabat in 1:42.98 special was the quality of the opposition. Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Gabriel Tual, and Donavan Brazier finished behind him. He said afterward: “It was an incredible race, it was a great atmosphere and an exciting run from my perspective. I wasn’t sure if I was gonna front-run it all, but 200m in the decision was made, and I had to stick with it. I felt very happy to win a Diamond League. I followed the pacemaker and stuck with it, and that’s how it went. I haven’t won an official Diamond race before*. The audience is amazing, and the stadium as well, lovely weather, great crowd, the other stadium in the background is really impressive, I was looking at it during the race. I have got two big championships this summer, the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games, and I am also looking at the British Record at some point, which is hopefully within reach.
*Max, World Athletics website recognizes your London win as an official Diamond League!!
He came second in the Diamond League Final last year, just 0.05 seconds behind Wanyoni. I spoke to him after that race, and he told me: “I take a lot of confidence that I can be that close to not just Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion, but also beating Arop, the previous world champion, and be properly in the mix. I think that’s the first time this season that I’ve really felt like I had a proper chance of winning, and had things gone slightly different, I think I could have”.
Talking about what was different about 2025, he put it down to consistent training: “2025 is the first year since probably 2018 that I’ve actually managed to have a full season and hit pretty much every race I wanted to. In terms of anything changing, though, I can’t say we have really. The issue is that in the previous two years – three years, I kept getting injured”.
Max is not part of any large training group. He is coached by his father and largely trains alone, and always has. “When I was very young and was just starting athletics, my granddad used to run in the local club. He coached me. And then I started to exceed all of the training groups in the club stuff. When I was around 14 or 15, my dad took over my individual training, and we haven’t really looked back. I think over the last few years, in particular, it’s been a massive benefit. Having my dad in that coaching role just, someone who’s going to have the patience to get through all the setbacks – someone who’s obliged to stay there and stick it out with me. I can’t think of a better way to put it than someone you can’t get away from, someone who’s a constant in your life and keeps you accountable”.
Incredibly, his dad had never coached before and doesn’t coach anyone else: “No, just me. And to be honest, I’d be surprised if anyone could convince him to coach anyone else. He stresses enough about me. He wouldn’t enjoy working with other people, I think. And being responsible for that. But that doesn’t mean he lacks the required knowledge or experience to do more coaching. He used to be a fairly decent 800 meter runner when he was an athlete back in the 1980s I think he ran 1:48. And also he’s learned a lot from my grandad like before he retired as well. In a way, it’s a shame he doesn’t want to take on anyone else, but it’s not my choice”. As someone said, Peter Coe, another dad from the North of England, coached his son, and they didn’t do too badly!
Let’s hope that Max can stay fit and build on his success into the coming season.
Watch Max’s interview in Rabat at
https://diamondleague.virtualmixedzone.com/interview/max-burgin-mens-800m/
