The rise of Max Burgin, UK's teenage 800m specialist

Great Britain’s teenage sensation Max Burgin punched above his weight and scripted the fastest 800m timing in the world this year by overcoming high-class competitors at the Golden Spike last Wednesday in Ostrava.

Burgin clocked 1:44:14, which was his personal best, as well as a European U-20 record – faster than Seb Coe and Steve Ovett at the same age.

Hailing from Yorkshire, the 19-year old is taking a one-year gap from his educational career, shifting the entire focus to training in order to enhance his performance at the 800m event.

Burgin is hoping the break will be a career-defining one, with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics also around the corner. Post the Olympics, he will start pursuing a degree in history at the University of Leeds.

“For the first time, I have no school work and I’m 100% focused on training. I’ve been enjoying it more too, I think. With everyone shut indoors most of the time with not much to do, it’s been good for me to have my training to focus on,” said Max Burgin.

His plans have reaped positive results so far, with success at the European meet documenting the same. In the final race, Burgin decided to go with the pacemaker and soon maintained a 10-metre lead which gave him a major boost, eventually winning him the race.

But he was surprised when he looked around to find that his rivals were lagging behind by quite some distance while he was already storming through the rope.

Heavyweights like Elliot Giles, Daniel Rowden and Jamie Webb were all part of the star-studded starting line-up, but they looked bleak in front of Burgin’s heroics.

However, the sprinter had to be attended by doctors in the mixed zone following the race. Although it was nothing serious, just intense fatigue taking a toll on the body.

This is how Max Burgin ran a WL and broke the European U20 record in the men's 800m 📹pic.twitter.com/mtzGpqqIZL https://t.co/derQcSQ6hZ

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) May 19, 2021

“That was the perfect race. The pacer did an amazing job and I just ran as hard as I could the second lap. I’m really happy,” admitted Max Burgin, as reported by the Guardian.

Compatriot Keely Hodgkinson's win motivated Max Burgin ahead of the race

Burgin was not the only athlete from Great Britain to have performed well at the continental event, with Keely Hodgkinson finishing as the fastest in the women’s 800m with a timing of 1:58:89.

The impressive display by her compatriot provided Burgin with the much-needed motivation to go the distance and replicate a similar result in the men’s event.

“It was brilliant (the race). I knew I wanted to run a fast time. The pacemaker helped me a lot. I kept pushing and pushing. I saw the race of my good friend Keely Hodgkinson, who ran just before me. She can be so fast and I thought I just have to match it at least. So I did treat myself for tomorrow’s birthday,” added the athlete, who turned 19, on May 20.

With a bit more than two months left for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to begin, Burgin’s graph couldn’t have peaked at a better time. Three quotas have already been secured by Great Britain for the upcoming Games, with Max Burgin expected to fit into the scheme of things, going by his recent record.

The world record in the men’s 800m is still held by Kenya’s David Rudisha, when he clocked 1:40:91 at the 2012 London Olympics.

While Burgin is still a rookie on the senior circuit, the athlete can script his name among the greats if he lives up to his potential in the future. For now, his eyes are fixed on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.