by Larry Eder
One of the greatest stories in 2025 is Donavan Brazier.
Donavan Brazier is the 2019 World Champion at the 800 meters. And in 2025, Donavan Brazier won the US Champs in one of the greatest competitions between Americans in my memory (I was there in 1984 in LA for the Trials, baby, that was a race too!). Here is the story:
His journey since 2020 has had many ups and downs. His PB was set in Doha, Qatar at the World Champs. That race was brilliant. I was high up in the stadium and watched Donavan’s move at 500 meters was unrivaled. Donavan Brazier ran 1:42.34, breaking the 34 year-old American record of 1:42.60 set by Johnny Gray. Donavan Brazier was on fire! In 2019, USA Track & Field won the highest accolade for a male athlete, Jesse Owens award.
Donavan was one of my first pandemic interviews, #SocialingtheDistance. Please check this one out, as Donavan speaks about training with Craig Engels, and living the life in COVID : https://www.runblogrun.com/2020/07/socialing-the-distance-featuring-donavan-brazie0-full-interview.html?swcfpc=1. It is like a time capsule of a strange and scary time. It reminds me of the book, The Decameron, about life during the Plague.
In 2022, at the Eugene World champs, Donavan Brazier, short on fitness and injured, did not make it out of the heats, in 1:46.72, not giving him a chance to defend his title from 2019.
Eugene, Oregon, USA
July 31 – August 3, 2025, photo by Kevin Morris
Donavan Brazier had several tough years, including two, 2023 and 2024, where he did not race. The following interview was conducted in the Spring of 2023, in Las Vegas, as Donavan was recovering from surgery. He would have two years like this, injuries, no racing, pain, self doubt. Donavan noted, in the mixed zone, that he would not have made it without his family, friends, team and coaches.
Enjoy this interview, again a time capsule;
Donavan Brazier returned to racing in June 2025, with a 1:44.70 on June 7, at the TOAD Fest in Nashville, Tennessee. On June 16, 2025, Donavan won the 800m at the iconic Portland Track Fest in 1:43.80! On July 16, 2025, Donavan Brazier visited London DL to finish sixth in 1:43.08, his finest race in FIVE YEARS! Donavan was pumped and ready to roll!
At the US champs, Donavan Brazier made it through the first round, and the semis. In the final, August 3, 2025, of the USATF Championships, Donavan Brazier returned and surpassed his old self, charging through a crowded last 80 meters, taking the definitive lead and winning the US champs in 1:42.16! His return was complete, in a PB and making WCS standard for Tokyo. Six years after his win in Doha, Qatar, Donavan Brazier is racing with his whole body, mind and spirit.
After his race at the US Champs, I had a few minutes with Donavan Brazier, I thought you would like to see the reborn World Champion! Well done, Donavan Brazier. You made me cry watching you finish! It was beyond my wildest dreams for you and it was glorious. One of the finest 800 meter races ever run at a US Championships!
Donavan Brazier, so gracious whether he does well, did fantastic, winning with a move from 150 meters to go! #800meters, #usatfoutdoors, @DonavanBrazier , @mwgam, @gamupdates, pic.twitter.com/iw7gtgOkP6
— RunBlogRun (@RunBlogRun) August 3, 2025
