2017 USATF Outdoor ChampionshipsJun 25, 2017 by Dennis Young
The Men's 800 Team At Worlds: Donavan Brazier, Isaiah Harris, Drew Windle
The Men's 800 Team At Worlds: Donavan Brazier, Isaiah Harris, Drew Windle
Donavan Brazier won his first USATF outdoor title on Sunday, taking the men's 800 meters over Isaiah Harris and Drew Windle.
Donavan Brazier took control in the second lap and crushed the field from there, winning his first U.S. 800 meter title in 1:44.14. Penn State sophomore Isaiah Harris (1:44.53) and Brooks Beast Drew Windle (1:44.95) were second and third as Windle walked down Erik Sowinski in the final 30 meters.
Brazier struggled with slow races in the rounds, only qualifying out of the first round on time and then finishing third in his semifinal. Those two races went out in 53 and 52 seconds, respectively, and Brazier openly said that he was more comfortable off a very fast pace. Today was middling--Erik Sowinski took it out in 51.31--but Brazier has graduated a class as a runner. He sat in second and well clear of traffic for the first 400 meters, then took no chances after the bell. He made the first move on the backstretch, and no one in the field could cover it.
Harris saved his move for the last 100 meters, and Windle saved his move for even later. Harris outclassed the rest of the field, and it looked like Sowinski had the third spot. But Windle, who was in last place with 150 meters to go, was moving faster than everyone else on the curve. He passed the field one by one, picking off Sowinski at the very end. All three men ran under the world standard and Windle and Harris set new PRs.
RESULTS:
1:44.14 Donavan Brazier
1:44.53 Isaiah Harris
1:44.95 Drew Windle
1:45.39 Erik Sowinski
1:45.69 Drew Piazza
1:49.90 Charles Jock
1:53.16 Abraham Alvarado
2016 Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy was a scratch after injuring his hamstrings in the 1500 meter final. His agent, Paul Doyle, said that "Both of Clayton's hamstrings cramped up on him with about 250m to go in the 1500m...He couldn't get them to loosen up and had to scratch today's 800m final."
The last two American men to medal in the 800 meters globally--Murphy and Nick Symmonds--didn't even make it to the start line of the final. But U.S. 800 running clearly has an incredibly bright future. Brazier and Harris are both 20-year-old college sophomores, while Windle is still just 24.
For Brazier, the title is massive redemption after flaming out in the first round of last summer's Olympic Trials. 1:44.14 is the second fastest time of his career, behind only his 1:43.55 collegiate record in the NCAA final last year. And this race was in many ways more impressive. In that race, he simply rode Brandon McBride around track on a hot pace and then won in the final 100 meters. Today, he made the move that made the race in the final 300 meters, and split 51.38-52.76, not ideal splits for a 1:44-low race.
Behind prohibitive favorite David Rudisha, the world championships will feature a mouthwatering battle between the last two collegiate champions and two fastest NCAA runners of all time. Brazier won NCAAs his freshman year and turned pro; UTEP's Emmanuel Korir may do the same, as he nearly broke Brazier's record in April and then won the Kenyan trials this weekend. Out of men who will be at worlds, Brazier's time today is the third fastest behind only Korir and fellow Kenyan Kipyegon Bett.
Symmonds was the only American male to even make a world final from 1997 to 2011. Now the United States could potentially have two different global medalists in back to back years.
It's the first senior outdoor team for all of the top three finishers, and a major breakthrough for Windle. The 24-year-old was a six-time Division II national champion at Ashland. This race was the first time he ever made a U.S. outdoor final. He admitted after the semifinal that he had been struggling with confidence issues all weekend; those types of doubts can get vanquished by the validation of making a team.
Under the radar, Harris has been one of the most promising young American talents in the event since last year. But before today, he tended to get overshadowed in his best races. He was a shocking fourth at NCAAs last summer but the second freshman behind Brazier; he was an impressive sixth at the Olympic Trials but the second collegian behind Craig Engels; and he ran faster than the existing 600 meter world record but finished behind Cas Loxsom in the race.
No more buts. He's going to worlds on one of the hardest teams to make.
Brazier struggled with slow races in the rounds, only qualifying out of the first round on time and then finishing third in his semifinal. Those two races went out in 53 and 52 seconds, respectively, and Brazier openly said that he was more comfortable off a very fast pace. Today was middling--Erik Sowinski took it out in 51.31--but Brazier has graduated a class as a runner. He sat in second and well clear of traffic for the first 400 meters, then took no chances after the bell. He made the first move on the backstretch, and no one in the field could cover it.
Harris saved his move for the last 100 meters, and Windle saved his move for even later. Harris outclassed the rest of the field, and it looked like Sowinski had the third spot. But Windle, who was in last place with 150 meters to go, was moving faster than everyone else on the curve. He passed the field one by one, picking off Sowinski at the very end. All three men ran under the world standard and Windle and Harris set new PRs.
RESULTS:
1:44.14 Donavan Brazier
1:44.53 Isaiah Harris
1:44.95 Drew Windle
1:45.39 Erik Sowinski
1:45.69 Drew Piazza
1:49.90 Charles Jock
1:53.16 Abraham Alvarado
2016 Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy was a scratch after injuring his hamstrings in the 1500 meter final. His agent, Paul Doyle, said that "Both of Clayton's hamstrings cramped up on him with about 250m to go in the 1500m...He couldn't get them to loosen up and had to scratch today's 800m final."
The last two American men to medal in the 800 meters globally--Murphy and Nick Symmonds--didn't even make it to the start line of the final. But U.S. 800 running clearly has an incredibly bright future. Brazier and Harris are both 20-year-old college sophomores, while Windle is still just 24.
For Brazier, the title is massive redemption after flaming out in the first round of last summer's Olympic Trials. 1:44.14 is the second fastest time of his career, behind only his 1:43.55 collegiate record in the NCAA final last year. And this race was in many ways more impressive. In that race, he simply rode Brandon McBride around track on a hot pace and then won in the final 100 meters. Today, he made the move that made the race in the final 300 meters, and split 51.38-52.76, not ideal splits for a 1:44-low race.
Behind prohibitive favorite David Rudisha, the world championships will feature a mouthwatering battle between the last two collegiate champions and two fastest NCAA runners of all time. Brazier won NCAAs his freshman year and turned pro; UTEP's Emmanuel Korir may do the same, as he nearly broke Brazier's record in April and then won the Kenyan trials this weekend. Out of men who will be at worlds, Brazier's time today is the third fastest behind only Korir and fellow Kenyan Kipyegon Bett.
Symmonds was the only American male to even make a world final from 1997 to 2011. Now the United States could potentially have two different global medalists in back to back years.
It's the first senior outdoor team for all of the top three finishers, and a major breakthrough for Windle. The 24-year-old was a six-time Division II national champion at Ashland. This race was the first time he ever made a U.S. outdoor final. He admitted after the semifinal that he had been struggling with confidence issues all weekend; those types of doubts can get vanquished by the validation of making a team.
Under the radar, Harris has been one of the most promising young American talents in the event since last year. But before today, he tended to get overshadowed in his best races. He was a shocking fourth at NCAAs last summer but the second freshman behind Brazier; he was an impressive sixth at the Olympic Trials but the second collegian behind Craig Engels; and he ran faster than the existing 600 meter world record but finished behind Cas Loxsom in the race.
No more buts. He's going to worlds on one of the hardest teams to make.