Max Burgin’s fast in 2025
2025 was a good year for British 800m runner Max Burgin. He PR’d 6th in Tokyo, or 1:42.29, right after finishing second at the Diamond League Finals in Zurich (1:42.42). He was a 2-year-old in earlier Diamond League racesth In Rabat, 3:00th in London and 4th in Paris and Lausanne.
He said about the final of the World Cup. “Throughout the season I’m gaining more confidence from racing. I’ve been finishing well, running fast, so if anything, sixth is a bit of a disappointment compared to where I’ve been finishing in the diamond leagues this season, but not a disaster. It was a good time, it was a decent race.”
Max is very comfortable as a leader, but he explained why in the World Championship final, after winning his premium and finishing second in the semi-final, he decided to follow the leaders: “It doesn’t make sense for me to go forward. In the semi-finals when they got going and it was a bit of a test, I was happy to take charge and go to the front, but not (in the final) against these guys running at this pace.”
He added another, perhaps disappointing thought. “At any other point in history I might have been guaranteed a medal, but now there are about 15 athletes who have a chance, which is a great thing for the event. It’s the quality of these competitions that drives those times.”
After his second place finish in the Diamond League finals, just weeks before Tokyo, he said: “To be able to compete at this level was amazing. That means I can win a medal at that level. The decisive moment was the last 50 meters. I have to wait. It’s about learning how to best use the kick at the end in these kinds of Dimond races. On the field of the World Cup, as a test, I dream of being in exactly the same position in the world.
“I took a lot of confidence from Zurich that I could be so close to not only Wanyonyi, the Olympic champion, but Arop, the previous world champion, and in the mix as well. I think it’s the first time this season that I really felt like I had a decent chance to win and things going a little bit differently I think I could have. So a lot of confidence indeed.”
One of the reasons 2025 went so well is because Max managed to stay fit and healthy; “Honestly, I don’t think much has changed in terms of approach. Obviously, it’s been a great season, consistently, my first since probably 2018, and I think I’ve actually been able to have a full season and hit almost every race I wanted to change. The last two years, three years, nothing really happened because we didn’t do anything to address them, a few minor adjustments here and there, but mostly it’s a case of those issues being resolved and I’ve been able to actually train the way we wanted to train.”
I was also interested to know if Max approached speed races like the Diamond League differently than he did championship races. His answer was: “I think in our event, the way Vagnoni often approaches the championships means the races are very similar. Now obviously that could change. He can change that and if he does I think it will be a significantly different race because there aren’t many other frontrunners at the moment. I know I’ve tried that approach in championships before, but I have no idea if it will be right this time. Whether it will be a different pace race, I’m not sure, but I think it will be very interesting because we haven’t really seen a proper slow tactical at all in the diamond leagues this year.
Max’s focus is on Seb Coe’s British record of 1:41.73 set in 1981; “Yeah, definitely after this season, it feels very much within touching distance. Will it be something, I might run in the championship, I don’t know. A championship run isn’t always the best place to go. But yeah, it looks very achievable to me and I’m sure Ben Pattison will too when he comes back for a full season again.
2026 holds many opportunities for Max Burgin.
