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Donavan Brazier
American middle-distance runner From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Donavan Brazier (born April 15, 1997) is an American middle-distance runner. He holds the American junior record in the men's 800 meters and won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships. With a time of 1:42.34, he was the American national and NACAC area record holder in the event from 2019 until 2024, when Marco Arop and Bryce Hoppel ran 1:41.20 and 1:41.67 to break the NACAC record and American record respectively.
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Athletics career
Summarize
Perspective
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: A lot of major championship and Diamond League results for Brazier are missing or not mentioned. See the achievements section for examples.. You can help by adding to it. (August 2025) |
Youth
In 2014, his junior year at Kenowa Hills High School, Brazier won the 800 meters at the New Balance national scholastic championships in 1:48.61; his time was a new Michigan state record.[2][3] His times continued the drop in his senior year; he ran a 45.92 split on a 4 × 400 meters relay and improved his 800-meter best to 1:47.55, placing him fourth on the all-time national high school list.[2][4] Brazier ran 1:47.55 in June 2015 in the 800 meters at the Brooks PR Invitational. Brazier competed in the 800 meters at 2015 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships but was disqualified.[5] In summer 2015, Brazier attempted to earn an opportunity to represent United States on his first national team as a junior (U20) at 2015 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships to compete in the 800 m.[6]
Collegiate
After graduating from high school after the 2015 season Brazier went to Texas A&M University, where he was coached by former top runner Alleyne Francique and head coach Pat Henry.[3] He ran 1:45.92 in his collegiate debut race on January 16, 2016, breaking John Marshall's American junior indoor record by almost two seconds; the time was also a NACAC junior indoor record, and missed the American collegiate record by only 0.05 seconds.[4][note 1] He won the 2016 SEC indoor championship in 1:46.08, but failed to finish his heat at the NCAA indoor championships due to a back injury.[8][9]
Brazier returned to action outdoors, but needed several meets to return to top shape.[9] He placed third at the SEC outdoor championships in 1:46.19, half a second behind Mississippi State's Brandon McBride.[8] At the NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene, Brazier won his semi-final in a personal best of 1:45.07.[9] The final was a rematch between Brazier and McBride; McBride led for most of the way, but Brazier passed him with 150 meters to go and won in 1:43.55.[10] The time was a new collegiate record,[11] American junior and NACAC junior record and world junior (U20) leader;[12] the previous American junior outdoor record was Jim Ryun's 1:44.3/1:44.9y, set exactly fifty years earlier on June 10, 1966.[13] Brazier's American and NACAC junior record stood until 2025, when Cooper Lutkenhaus ran 1:42.27.[14]
Professional
Brazier turned professional after his NCAA victory, signing an endorsement deal with Nike and forgoing his three remaining years of collegiate eligibility.[15][16] Brazier finished 19th in the 800 meters at the 2016 USATF Olympic Trials in 1:48.13.[17] Donavan Brazier reconnected with his coach from Texas A&M University (Grenada’s top 400 m runner Alleyne Francique).[18] At the 2017 National Championships, he followed Eric Sowinski's early kick into a breakaway position and held his pace as Sowinski faded to win his first national championship, thus qualifying for the World Championships.[citation needed]
On August 29, 2019, Brazier set a new 800 meter personal best of 1:42.70 en route to winning the Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland. In this race, Brazier demonstrated phenomenal finishing speed by overtaking Botswanan runner Nijel Amos in the last 30 meters, who had attempted the race at world record pace.[19]
On October 1, 2019, Brazier won the 800 meter at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar. His time of 1:42.34 was a championships record and a new American record, surpassing Johnny Gray's 1:42.60 from 1985.[20][21] At the end of the season, Brazier was selected for the Jesse Owens Award.[22]
On February 8, 2020, Brazier set the American indoor 800 meter record in a time of 1:44.22. He opened his 2020 season in the 1500 meters, running a world lead of 3:35.85.[23] In August he ran another world lead in the 800 meters, with 1:43.15.[24]
On February 13, 2021, Brazier ran 1:44.21 in the 800 meters at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in New York City to lower his then-American indoor record (since broken by Josh Hoey in 2025) in the event by .01 seconds.[25] The same year, Brazier had surgery to repair a fractured tibia.[26]
At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Brazier was eliminated in the first round of the 800 meters. He later underwent achilles surgery to repair a Haglund's deformity, which required two follow-up surgeries. At the end of 2023, he left the Nike Union Athletics Club and coach Pete Julian. In 2025, Brazier began to receive workouts from Mike Smith.[26]
On June 7, 2025 at the TOAD Fest in Nashville, Tennessee, Brazier won the 800 meters in 1:44.70. It was his first race since 2022, due to recurring injuries and a coaching change.[27] On June 16, 2025, he won the 800 meters at the Portland Track Festival in a time of 1:43.81.[28] On July 19, 2025, he finished sixth in the 800 meters at the London Athletics Meet, in a season's best time of 1:43.08.[29][30] On August 3, 2025, Brazier won the 800 meter final at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in a new personal best of 1:42.16, thus qualifying for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.[31]
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Personal life
Brazier has been in a relationship with Ally Watt and got engaged on February 24, 2025.[32][33]
Achievements
Personal bests
International competitions
Circuit wins and titles
Indoor Tour
Diamond League
National championships
NCAA championships
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Notes
- "American collegiate record" refers to the best collegiate indoor mark by an American athlete, Derek Peterson's 1:45.88; Brazier missed Paul Ereng's overall NCAA indoor record (1:44.84) by more than a second.[7]
References
External links
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