The United States Olympic track and field trials did not go the way anyone expected on Monday night.
Reigning world champion Donavan Brazier finished dead last in the 800-meter men’s final, failing to qualify for the 2020 Olympics.
Brazier, who holds the U.S. record for the 800-meter event, finished over four seconds behind the winner Clayton Murphy, who was the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist in the event. The trials were being held in Eugene, Oregon.
Isaiah Jewett, who recently won the NCAA title for 800 meters took second, and Bryce Hoppel came in at third.
When asked whether he was healthy after the race, the 24-year-old Brazier said that there were “some things bugging [him]” but did not go into specifics about any injuries or illnesses.
Brazier said the bigger issue was that he did not pace himself well and could not keep up in the final 200 meters.
“There’s things that champions overcome, and I couldn’t overcome them,” Brazier said after the race. “So obviously, I’m not of that championship-caliber that I needed to be at… I can’t take away anything from this experience. I ran pretty s–tty .”
The world champion said that he “probably won’t” compete in the men’s 1,500-meter race later this week.
However, Brazier has high hopes for the 800-meter event beyond the Olympics.
“It was a s–t race. I had my head down for a little bit but I’m still gonna feel like I’m that man when I go into track meets,” Brazier said. “I’m still gonna feel like I’m the 800-meter champ and the best 800-meter runner in the world when I go into meets, but today I obviously wasn’t.”
In the 2016 Olympic trials, Brazier finished in 19th place in a performance he referred to as “self-destruction.”
