Following that season, they had a conversation about where Hoppel’s career was capable of going, and the end goal was getting to the Olympics and “doing something special.” KU assistant coach Michael Whittlesey has known Hoppel since the 23-year-old soon-to-be Olympian was a junior at Midland Senior High, and has continued to work with Hoppel since the standout collegian turned pro.Īfter Hoppel failed to qualify for the NCAA championships as a freshman, Whittlesey saw the young runner begin to take off as a sophomore. team makes it a bit “overwhelming,” admitted Hoppel, who said ahead of the trials when he went to bed at night sometimes he took measured breaths to calm himself down and go to sleep. Getting only one shot every four years to make the U.S. “As soon as all the trials were over, it was such a weight off the shoulders,” Hoppel said, adding he experienced “nowhere near” that level of stress when competing previously at the 2019 World Championships. That made qualifying feel like more of a relief than anything. The 6-foot, 152-pound runner had performed at such a high level dating back to his indoor and outdoor NCAA championships with KU in 2019 that he figured he was on track for the Olympics before getting hurt. Though his body wasn’t happy with him, Hoppel took third place in the final, finishing in 1:44.14. Hoppel made it to the final, where he wasn’t restricted with his stride or sprint, but could tell the muscles were “inflamed and agitated with me.”
It was one of the first days since hurting his quads that he thought he could get through an 800. Prior to Hoppel’s first race at the prelims in Eugene, Ore., he could tell during his first stride of warmups the recovering injury wasn’t hurting him too much. The steady buildup toward an incalculable result ultimately paid off.
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