Donavan Brazier (born April 15, 1997) is an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, ranging from 500 metres up to . The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distanc ...

. He holds the American junior record in the men's

800 meters The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

and won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

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 Marco Arop (born September 20, 1998) is a Canadian track and field athlete competing in the middle distance events. Arop is the reigning world champion in the 800 m, winning gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championship, after winning br ...

and

Bryce Hoppel Bryce Hoppel ( ; born September 5, 1997) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters. He is the reigning 800 meters world indoor champion having won gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships - Men's 8 ...

ran 1:41.20 and 1:41.67 to break the NACAC record and American record respectively.

Athletics career

Youth

In 2014, his

junior year A junior is a person in the third year at an educational institution in the US and some other countries, usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. I ...

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. 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. Brazier ran 1:47.55 in June 2015 at 800 meters at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Brooks PR. Brazier competed in the 800 meters at 2015 USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships but was disqualified. 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 The 2015 Pan American U20 Athletics Championships, Pan American Junior Championships was the eighteenth edition of the biennial track and field competition for Under-20 athletics from the Americas, organised by the Association of Panamerican Athle ...

to compete in the 800 m.

Collegiate

After graduating from high school after the 2015 season Brazier went to

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, where he was coached by former top runner

Alleyne Francique Alleyne Jeremy Francique (born June 7, 1976) is a retired Grenadian athlete who specialized in 400 metres, his personal best being 44.47 seconds set in 2004. He is the 400 m two-time world indoor champion in 2004 and 2006. He won his first wor ...

and head coach Pat Henry. He ran 1:45.92 in his collegiate debut race on January 16, 2016, breaking

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

's American

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

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. 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. Brazier returned to action outdoors, but needed several meets to return to top shape. He placed third at the SEC outdoor championships in 1:46.19, half a second behind Mississippi State's Brandon McBride. At the NCAA outdoor championships in

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

Brazier won his semi-final in a personal best 1:45.07. 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. The time was a new collegiate record, American Junior and NACAC junior record and world junior (U20) leader; the previous American junior outdoor record was

Jim Ryun James Ronald Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former Republican Party (United States), Republican politician and Olympic track and field athlete, who at his peak was widely considered the world's top middle-distance runner. He won a si ...

's 1:44.3/1:44.9, set exactly fifty years earlier on June 10, 1966.

Professional

Brazier turned professional after his NCAA victory, signing an endorsement deal with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

and forgoing his three remaining years of collegiate eligibility. Brazier finished 19th in 800 meters at 2016 USATF Olympic Trials in 1:48.13. Donavan Brazier reconnected with his coach from

(

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

’s top 400 m runner

). 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. 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 Nijel Carlos Amilfitano Amos (born 15 March 1994) is a Botswana Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner who competes in the 800 metres. He won the silver medal at the Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 London Olympics, which was ...

in the last 30 meters, who had attempted the race at world record pace. 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 John Lee Gray Jr. (born June 19, 1960) is a retired American world-class 800 meter runner from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s and the holder of the 600m world best. A four-time Olympian (1984-1996), in 1985 he set the United States records in t ...

's 1:42.60 from 1985. At the end of the season, Brazier was selected for the Jesse Owens Award. On February 8, 2020, Brazier set the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

indoor 800 meter record in a time of 1:44.22 (since broken by Josh Hoey in 2025). He opened his 2020 season, in a

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

2020 world lead of 3:35.85. In August he ran another 2020 world lead in the

of 1:43.15. On February 13, 2021, Brazier ran 1:44.21 in the 800m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in New York City to lower his own American indoor record in the event by .01 seconds. On June 7, 2025 at the TOAD Fest in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Brazier won the 800 meters in 1:44.70. It was his first race since 2022, due to recurring injuries and a coaching change.

Personal Bests

Personal life

Brazier has been in a relationship with Ally Watt.

Notes

References

External links

* * *
Donavan Brazier – Kenowa Hills High School
at DyeStat.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brazier, Donavan 1997 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan Texas A&M Aggies men's track and field athletes Track and field athletes from Michigan United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Diamond League winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners USA Indoor Track and Field Championships winners NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 21st-century American sportsmen