WATCH: Canadian Brandon McBride’s inspirational bid to win the NCAA 800m
Canadian Brandon McBride, 21, was eyeing the U.S. collegiate 800m title on June 10 in Eugene, Ore. and took the race out at an incredible pace.
Brandon McBride ran one of the fastest 800m times ever run by a Canadian at the NCAA track championships on June 10 in Eugene, Ore. The 21-year-old set a new personal best of 1:44.50 but was defeated by Donavan Brazier of Texas A&M, who ran 1:43.55 to set a new collegiate record that had stood for 50 years to the day.
Canadian @mcbride46 runs 1:44.50 behind #NCAATF winner Donovan Brazier, who sets new collegiate record 1:43.55: pic.twitter.com/OhbZ8pxyRA
— CanadianRunning (@CanadianRunning) June 11, 2016
The NCAA division one championships serve as the American university championships and are being held in Eugene, Ore. at Hayward Field, an iconic stadium in track and field for its rich history of hosting events. The stadium will host the world championships in 2021.
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McBride turns 22 on June 15 and Friday’s races capped off his collegiate career with Mississippi State University.
An emotional end to my collegiate career
— brandon mcbride (@mcbride46) June 11, 2016
McBride, a Windsor, Ont. native, took the race out hard through the first 200m and continued to lead until the 700m mark before being passed by Brazier, the eventual winner. The only Canadian to have ever run faster than McBride is the national record holder, Gary Reed. The now-retired Reed ran 1:43.68 in 2008.
“An emotional end to my collegiate career,” says McBride, who was the American collegiate champion in the men’s outdoor 800m in 2014.
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Brazier, the 2016 winner, is now in the mix to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. He had a relatively quiet stretch of running since early 2016 but in addition to winning the June 10 championships, he set a new U.S. junior record.
Donovan Brazier shattered Jim Ryun's #collegiate 800m record 50 years to the day, running 1:43.55 to win #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/dqLI2w9nGf
— Michael Scott (@urimiscott) June 11, 2016
McBride recently graduated from Mississippi State University, located in Starkville, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and capped off his collegiate career by running the 4x400m relay just one hour after his 800m performance on Friday evening. His MSU relay team was disqualified.
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He’s on track to represent Canada at the Rio Olympics and is a likely candidate to break Reed’s record, which has stood for eight years. The world record for comparison is 1:40.91.
McBride has dabbled in the longer distances this year and has range across sprint events and middle distance events having run 45.89 for the 400m and 3:41 for the 1,500m. He will run at the Canadian track championships, which double as the Olympic Trials, in Edmonton in early July.
Saturday is the final day of action at the NCAA championships and will feature the women’s finals (men and women’s events have alternated days since Wednesday). Stay tuned for a preview of must-watch races.
Full Friday results can be found below:
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