“I just feel on top of the world, this year has been a huge domino effect, everything has been going in my favor from indoors all the way out.” That was an American track and field athlete in 2019, moments after clinching gold in the men’s 800m at the World Championships in Doha. Not only did he become the first American man to win the event at a World Championship, but he also shattered both the American and championship records with a stunning time of 1:42.34. It was the kind of night that defines careers—the kind of night where the world bows and history remembers. But the script didn’t unfold the way it was supposed to after that.

Donavan Brazier , once the unstoppable force in middle-distance running, faced brutal setbacks when it mattered most. In 2021, he took a gamble at the U.S. Olympic Trials despite an injury and paid dearly. He fractured the tibia in his left leg during the semifinal or final—he’s still not sure when exactly—but he gutted it out to finish the race, placing last in 1:47.88. The Tokyo Olympics slipped away. The following year, he showed up to the World Championships on home soil in Eugene—America’s first time hosting the event—with a nagging Achilles injury. Again, Brazier took the risk. Again, fate wasn’t kind. He finished sixth in his heat in 1:46.72, missing the semis. That turned out to be his last race. Until now.

After nearly three years out of competition, news broke on June 3 that sent ripples through the track world.“2019 800m World champion Donavan Brazier is listed among the entries for the @PortlandTrack Festival on June 14th-15th,” Citius Mag posted on X.

Portland is, however, familiar ground. The last time Brazier raced there was in 2021—and he won, clocking 1:45.09 while outkicking a loaded field that included eventual Olympic champion Emmanuel Korir. Now, he’s returning—not just to the same track, but to the spotlight. So, for Brazier, this isn’t just a race. It’s a statement. After years of pain, surgeries, and silence, he’s ready to start writing a new chapter. One that could still end in glory. But want to know what the surgeries he went through since June 2021, merely one and a half years after his biggest achievement on the track? 

After the highest of highs in 2019, the years that followed were nothing short of brutal for Donavan Brazier. Behind the headlines of missed championships and races that never happened was a body that simply refused to cooperate—and a mind that refused to quit.

It all started in June 2021, just a few weeks ahead of the Tokyo Olympics. Brazier underwent surgery to repair a fractured tibia in his left leg—the same leg he had tried to race on during the Olympic Trials, unknowingly making things worse with every stride. But that was just the beginning.

Thirteen months later, in July 2022, he went under the knife again—this time for Haglund’s deformity, a painful bony bump on the heel that irritates and frays the Achilles tendon. The procedure was minimally invasive, a calculated attempt to get Brazier back on the track quicker. But his heel never truly healed.

Six months later, another surgery. This one was to clean out the scar tissue left behind from the first Haglund’s procedure. Still, no relief. And then came the fourth. In July 2023, Brazier made the difficult decision to have a more extensive version of Haglund’s surgery—this time, with a different approach and a new doctor. He placed his trust in Dr. Robert Anderson, a renowned foot and ankle specialist who had treated some of the biggest names in sports, from Stephen Curry to Derek Jeter. Anderson’s credentials were elite. So was the patience Brazier had to summon just to keep going.

By January 2024, while most of the track and field world had moved on, Brazier was grinding in silence—cross-training on the exercise bike, spending up to 90 minutes a day on the elliptical, and finally, ever so cautiously, reintroducing running into his routine. It was a long, frustrating, and uncertain recovery. Four surgeries on the same leg in less than three years. And yet, through every setback, Brazier’s fire never went out. He is returning to the track where he once set so many tall records. 

The track and field athlete has made his own presence 

When Donavan Brazier burst onto the scene in 2019, he wasn’t just winning—he was redefining what dominance looked like in the 800 meters. It all began the year before, in the fall of 2018, when Brazier joined the now-defunct Nike Oregon Project. There, he was guided by Pete Julian, then an assistant coach under the controversial Alberto Salazar. When the NOP was dismantled in 2019 following Salazar’s ban by USADA, Brazier didn’t flee the chaos—he stayed, alongside a handful of other athletes. Together, they formed a new identity in Portland: the Nike Union Athletics Club. Julian took the reins, and Brazier flourished.

Under Julian’s coaching, Brazier evolved into a middle-distance monster. He clocked a world record in the indoor 600m (1:13.77), American records in both the indoor (1:44.21) and outdoor (1:42.34) 800m, and then came the golden year—2019.

Brazier swept the U.S. indoor and outdoor titles, stormed through the Diamond League to win the final in Zurich, and capped it all off by conquering the world in Doha. His championship record of 1:42.34 wasn’t just fast—it was historic. He won that final by 1.13 seconds, the largest margin of victory in World Championship 800m history. Back then, his stride was smooth, his kick was lethal, and his confidence radiated through every curve of the track. He wasn’t just the future—he was the moment. Now, nearly four years since his last race, Brazier is gearing up to return. The Portland Track Festival on June 14–15 won’t just be a meet—it will be a moment of truth.