Max Burgin – winner in Rabat
Max Burgin He has always seemed like an athlete with great potential. He has battled injuries, but he is only 24 years old. He finished eighth in the 800 meters at the Paris Olympics in 1:43.84 and sixth at the Tokyo World Championships in 1:42.29. Their victory in the Rabat Diamond League is possibly their biggest victory yet. It was the second victory in the DL after the victory in London in 2023*.
What did 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 afterwards: “It was an incredible race, it was a great atmosphere and an exciting race from my perspective. I wasn’t sure if I was going to lead the whole thing, but 200m in the decision was made and I had to keep going. I was very happy to win a Diamond League. I followed the pacer and stuck with it, and that was it. I hadn’t won an official Diamond race before*. The crowd is incredible, and the stadium too, lovely weather, great crowd, the other stadium at the back is really impressive, I was watching during the race Europeans and the Commonwealth Games, and I’m also looking at the British record at some point, which I hope will be within my reach.
*Maximum, World Athletics Website Recognize your victory in London 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 said: “I’m very confident that I can come this close not only to Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion, but also to beat Arop, the previous world champion, and be in contention. I think it’s the first time this season that I really feel like I have a good chance of winning, and if things had been a little bit different, I think I could have done it.”
Speaking about what was different about 2025, he put it down to constant training: “2025 is the first year since probably 2018 that I’ve managed to have a full season and do pretty much all the races I wanted. However, in terms of changes, I can’t say we’ve really done that. The problem is that in the previous two or three years, I kept getting injured.”
Max is not part of any large training group. His father trains him and he trains mostly alone, as he always has. “When I was very young and just starting out in athletics, my grandfather used to run at the local club. He coached me. And then I started to get through all the training groups at the club. 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 huge benefit. “Having my dad in that coaching role, someone who will have the patience to overcome all the setbacks – someone who is bound to stay there and endure with me. I can’t think of a better way to say it than someone you can’t get away from, someone who is a constant in your life and holds you accountable.”
Incredibly, his father had never trained before and doesn’t train anyone else: “No, just me. And to be honest, I’d be surprised if anyone could convince him to train anyone else. He gets quite stressed about me. I think he wouldn’t like working with other people. And being responsible for that. But that doesn’t mean he lacks the knowledge or experience to train more. He used to be a pretty decent 800 meter runner when he was an athlete in the 1980s. I think He ran in 1:48. And he also learned a lot from my grandfather, like before he retired. As someone said, Peter Coe, another father from the north of England, trained his son, and he didn’t do too badly!
Let’s hope Max can stay fit and build on his success next season.
Watch Max’s interview in Rabat at
https://diamondleague.virtualmixedzone.com/interview/max-burgin-mens-800m/
