Josh Hoey profile by JG

Oops, I am not able to link. But search for "USADA athlete test history" on google and search his name.

I've been asking the question if Hoey is doping, why now? I can imagine there's an immense amount of pressure to get results when your whole family poured time, energy, and money into your running career, but why this season specifically? For example, why not last year in time for the Olympics?

IT's obviously really easy to be suspiscous of huge jumps in performance, but I'm not sure one way or the other on Hoey. It is definitely a different path he's taken, endless resources yet stagnation for years until now. He was completely fatigued with Coach #3, Centrowitz. Then with Coach #4, Nohilly at Empire Elite, Hoey was the one pushing harder than necessary, and Coach #5 was an apparently short term but very intense solution to get healthy with a coach who isn't specialized in the 800?

Multiple coaches said he has the talent to run faster than 1:47, but it sure did take a long time to get there. It sounds like it's also taken a lot of time to get the mental side of things right. I wonder how his dad was supporting him when he was depressed. In some ways this profile has left me with more questions about Hoey than answers, but I'll be curious to see how the outdoor season goes for him.

After reading the article, he's almost certainly doping.

A uber rich dad who is desperate for his son to succeed. A trust fund kid who is "depressed" and wants to be great. The 5 coaches, building tracks, buying Centro a home, etc. The fact Rinaldi is based far away.

It all screams: doped to the gills.

“Why not last year in time for the Olympics”

Last year his pb dropped from 1:47.26 to 1:43.80 and he was 0.15 seconds off the Olympic team. Seems like they just barely mistimed it.

Yes, and re: Hoey's advantages courtesy of his dad, don't forget this one: Since seventh grade, Hoey had been coached remotely by Terrence Mahon, one of the country’s top pro coaches, and, like Brad Sumner, a roommate and good friend of Fran Hoey’s in Philadelphia in the ’90s.

It's much easier to root for a blue-collar runner than a blue-blood runner. It's difficult to relate to an overdog. That said, Hoey's story has a theme of perseverance that transcends socioeconomic status.

This part from Gault's piece stood out to me:

Centrowitz was blown away by Fran’s dedication to his sons. If there was an obstacle in the way of their success, he would do whatever it took to remove it. If there was something that could make their lives easier, he would pay whatever it took to get it.

Reading the article, it struck me that Hoey's biggest challenges were related to mental health: depression, lacking confidence, pushing too hard in training, not trusting the process, etc. His father has done everything he can to remove Hoey's external obstacles, but oftentimes the greatest obstacles in life come from within.

Kudos to Gault on another excellent article. I enjoy reading feature profiles on athletes.

I'm just amazed at how hard Hoey was dudding for 6 years. All of those kids should've gone to college just to get away from their parents.

Amazing reporting by Jon. What strikes you is how meddlesome and emotional the father seems to be. Outside of that, it seems Josh is a classic case of a guy who just leaves his races in training. I think lactate and treadmills seem to be the biggest factors almost in the breakthrough along. Rinaldis system is sound, too. There’s also the possibility of doping which I’d agree with other posters doesn’t really go away considering just how fixated the family is

I couldn’t write a better post myself.

A pretty simple risk analysis points towards taking the large contracts out of high school basically every single time. If you place a massive value on the college/team experience, then it's closer, but the ncaa experience probably isn't worth giving up a million dollar + contract. You can also get a degree at any time (as they've already done), while the large high school contracts only come once. Keep in mind that if Hoey had struggled in college, there wouldn't have ever been a contract.

Lol well it sounds like 3 people

Also, everybody in this thread seems to be ignoring that the path Hoey has taken, while unconventional and adverse at times, has worked. He's a world champion and in contention for outdoor global medals.

Any "Financial Advisor" with that kind of money almost certainly acquired it by ripping off his clients with high fees and churn and burn stock picking. I am a private practice radiologist in my early 40s and I don't have the kind of money this guy apparently has to spend on his children's athletic pursuits. I just think it makes the whole story even more suspicious when you take into account the fact that the father is likely a white collar conman.

I wouldn't go to work for anything less than 6 figures.

Ask ChatGPT to describe the kind of father who would assist his track athlete son with doping, and there's your answer (along with tons of money and an unhealthy obsession with the son's success).

Exactly what I was thinking, and I was about to post a similar thought. Hoey may be the single biggest red flag for doping we have ever seen. What's frustrating is that JG is so high on himself and thinks that the rest of us are so stupid that nobody has thought that Hoey is the most obvious doper ever. It's funny how that piece he wrote does everything to duck the obvious and try to blame Hoey's mediocrity on literally everything besides the fact that he is just mediocre and that the only explanation for his rapid improvement is performance enhancing drugs. JG tries to cover by providing examples of the 400m hurdlers who transitioned to the 8 and had one good season. He's so pathetic in his blatant attempts to gaslight us into thinking the sport is somehow not completely tainted. JG, I'm not gullible, so nice try, and I will never suspend my critical thinking.

Yeah, only it hasn't worked until last season. The other five years were a failure. And in JG's article, no real training information is described with his new coach other than a slight reference to higher volume. Don't be so naive. Dude is doped to the gills.

Hoey i mentally scrub the times

waiting for the bust

which may never come with sports med bucks and protocol to avoid

that said

having all the money in the world isn't really an advantage mentally to drive you

except an an insane urge to prove to daddy and people you are a somebody

harsh here

Great article (at least the part I could read). Makes me feel terribly sad about the entire situation.