DOHA, Qatar – Clayton Murphy watched the last two heats of the 800-meter semifinals before leaving the track to see if he qualified for the finals. The top two runners in each heat qualified as well as the next two fastest overall, and Murphy had placed third in his heat with a time of 1 minute, 44.48 seconds.
His Nike Oregon Project teammate, Donavan Brazier, won the second heat in 1:44.87. So as long as the third and fourth place runners in the final heat ran slower than Murphy, he was in the final of the 2019 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
“It’s just pray that somebody goes to the front and slows it down,” he said.
Amel Tuka of Bosnia and Herzegovina did just that, leading a slow 53-second first lap and ultimately winning the third semifinal in 1:45.63. That meant Murphy had qualified for the final on Tuesday.
He quickly critiqued his performance.
“I just made a lot of mistakes today and honestly made a lot of mistakes over the last two days,” he said. “I just put myself too far back. That middle 200, I just decided to take a nap again like yesterday. I just can’t let that happen on Tuesday.”
Murphy endured the same nail-biting wait after the first round of the 800 meters at the 2016 Rio Olympics and went on to win the bronze medal. He now has a chance to add a world championships medal to his résumé.
Since the world outdoor championships began in 1983, only three Americans have finished on the 800-meter podium: Mark Everett took bronze in 1991, Rich Kenah took bronze in 1997 and Nick Symmonds won silver in 2013.
When Bryce Hoppel finished second in the final heat, that meant three of the four U.S. semifinalists advanced to the final, exactly what the female U.S. 800-meter runners did.
“It feels good to copy the girls,” said Brazier. “The girls are strong, so we’re able to follow in their footsteps. But we’ll see how many medals we can bring home on both sides.”
Brazier, the Diamond League champion, is prepared for any type of race on Tuesday at Khalifa International Stadium.
“I’ve raced different ways this year, and I don’t think I’m ever overwhelmed in any position that I’m at in a race,” he said. “All the way from Zurich, I was almost in eighth place with 200 to go, and here I was in like second or third. I think every place that I’m at, I’m fairly sure I can get up to the front pack with 100 to go.”
His teammate Murphy, on the other hand, knows what changes he needs to make before the final.
“I prefer to put myself up front and where I don’t have to run through as much traffic,” he said. “When you get to this level, it doesn’t matter how good your kick is. Everybody can kick as well as you.”
