Brandon McBride, “I am as fit as I have ever been”

July 14, 2017

Windsor’s Brandon McBride will be competing in the 2017 London IAAF World Track and Field Championships in the 800-metre distance event. He qualified first by running under the 1:45.90 qualification standard with a 1:45.36 performance in Boston in February and then cemented his position on Team Canada by winning the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa, two weeks ago.

He won in the time of 1:45.23. Results are below.

Full championships results are here>>.

“The Canadian championships were a great stepping stone for the rest of the summer,” shared the 23-year-old. “It’s always an honour to get an opportunity to represent your country. I am very thankful that I earned another chance to do so.”

He is a Rio Olympian and owns a personal best of 1:43.95. The Canadian record is 1:43.68, which Kamloops native Gary Reed set in the Monaco Diamond League meet in 2008.

Reed owns the next two fastest times 1:43.93 and 1:43.95. McBride is the second-fastest Canadian all-time.

Reed earned a silver medal during the 2007 Osaka world championships and came heartbreakingly close to bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

At nationals, McBride ran splits of 50.80 and 54.24; he led from the gun and ran the fastest second half by well over a second.

“As for the race, we used it to start the sharpening process. I am as fit as I’ve ever been. It’s about getting in races and sharpening now. It should be a very fun, and exciting summer.”

Although he never mentioned it, getting into the right race may lead to a new national record.

Anything can and usually does happen in global championships. For example, the medal winners during the 2015 Beijing IAAF World Track and Field Championships finished in:

Gold – 1:45.84
Silver – 1:46.08
Bronze – 1:46.30.

Two years before the finish times were faster, as the first split went out at a speed that appears to suit McBride. Mohammad Aman ran the first 400m in 50.37, whereas in Beijing David Rudisha had led a slow 54.17, which required rare speed for the second half.

Two years earlier in Daegu, Korea, Rudisha won in the time of 1:43.91 in a more typical 800m race. McBride will need to be prepared for anything in London.

Nationals – 2017:

Men 800 Metre Run Senior

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Canadian: @ 1:43.68

Canadian: @ 1:43.68 29/07/2008 Gary Reed

Championship: $ 1:44.93 2007 Gary Reed

World: # 1:40.91 08/09/2012 David Lekuta Rudisha, KEN

1:45.90 WC World Champ. Std.

Name Year Team Finals

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Finals

1 McBride, Brandon 94 Windsor Leg. 1:45.23 WC