Max Burgin – victory in Rabat
Max Burgin has always looked like an athlete with great potential. He’s struggled with injuries, but he’s only 24 years old. He finished eighth in the 800m at the Paris Olympics in 1:43.84 and sixth at the Tokyo World Championships in 1:42.29. His victory in the Rabat Diamond League is without a doubt his biggest victory. It was DL’s second win since London 2023*.
Which won? He finished in a time of 1:42.98 the quality of the opposition was special. Emmanuel Vagnoni, Gabriel Tual and Donavan Brazier finished behind him. “It was an incredible race, a great atmosphere and an exciting race from my point of view. I wasn’t sure if I was going to run it all up front, but the 200m decision was made and I had to stick with it. I was very happy to win the Diamond League. The crowd before* is amazing and so is the stadium, great weather, great crowd, the other stadium is really impressive, I’ve been looking at it this summer Europeans and: co-op games, and I’m also looking at the British record at some point, which I hope is available.
* Max, World Athletics website recognizes your London win as an official Diamond League.
He was second in last year’s Diamond League final, just 0.05 seconds behind Wanyonyi. I talked to him after that race and he told me, “I’m very confident that I can be that close not only to Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion, but also to beat Arop, the previous world champion, and be properly in the mix. I think it’s the first time this season that I really felt like I had a decent chance to win and things could have been a little different.”
Talking about what was different about 2025, he put it down to consistent training. “2025 is probably the first year since 2018 that I’ve actually been able to have a full season and run almost all the races I wanted to. Can’t say we’ve really changed though. The thing is, the previous two years, three years, I kept getting injured.”
Max is not part of any large learning group. He is coached by his father and mostly trains alone and always does. “When I was very young and just starting athletics, my grandfather used to run at the local club. He trained me. And then I started to excel in all the training groups at the club. When I was about 14 or 15, my dad started personal training me and we haven’t really looked back. I think over the last couple of years, in particular, playing someone’s role has been a huge benefit. who will have the patience to overcome all setbacks. someone who’s bound to stay there and hold me, I can’t think of a better way than someone you can’t get away from, someone who’s a constant in your life and keeps you accountable.”
Surprisingly, his father has never coached anyone before and is not coaching anyone. “No, just me. And frankly, I’d be surprised if anyone could convince him to coach anyone else. He stresses me enough. I don’t think he would enjoy working with other people. And being responsible for it. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the honest knowledge or experience to run more coach. He was an athlete in the 1980s, I think he ran 1:48 and also learned a lot from my grandfather, like retiring before. As someone else said, another father from the North of England, Peter Coe, coached his son and they didn’t do too badly.
Let’s hope Max can stay fit and build on his success in the coming season.
Watch Max’s interview in Rabat
https://diamondleague.virtualmixedzone.com/interview/max-burgin-mens-800m/
