British middle-distance prodigy Max Burgin clocks the fastest 800m time in the world this year as the teenager produces stunning run in Czech Republic a day before his 19th birthday
- Max Burgin ran the fastest 800m time in the world this year on Wednesday
- The British prodigy easily won in Czech Republic, crossing over in just 1:44.14
- Fellow Brit Keely Hodgkinson, meanwhile, also won the women’s 800m
British middle-distance prodigy Max Burgin produced a stunning run in the Czech Republic on Wednesday night on his way to setting the fastest 800m time in the world this year.
The teenager, who will only turn 19 on Thursday, led from gun to tape against a decent field at the Continental Tour meet in Ostrava and crossed in 1:44.14.
Aside from being a 2021 world lead, it also broke his European Under 20 record and achieved the Olympic qualifying standard.
British middle-distance prodigy Max Burgin broke the world lead record in the men’s 800m
The teenager produced a stunning run in the Czech Republic, crossing the line in 1:44.14
‘It was brilliant,’ Burgin said. ‘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.’
European indoor champion Keely Hodgkinson, 19, won the women’s 800m in a quick 1:58.89. Britain’s Jessie Knight took the 400m hurdles in a personal best of 54.74sec.
‘That was the perfect race,’ she said. ‘The pacer did an amazing job and I just ran as hard as I could the second lap. I’m really happy.’
When asked whether the unseasonably cold weather had bothered her, she smiled. ‘It’s a lot colder in the UK,’ she said. ‘We have days like this only worse.’
Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson also won the women’s 800m in Czech Republic on Wednesday