Men’s 800: Bryce Hoppel Shines with 1:42.77 PB & Leads Three Americans Under 1:44 at Olympic Trials
Bryce Hoppel, Hobbs Kessler, Brandon Miller went 1-2-3 and will have the opportunity to represent Team USA in Paris
By Joseph Carroll
World indoor champ Bryce Hoppel pulled away in the last 100 to run an almost half-second PB of 1:42.77 to capture his third straight US 800m title this afternoon at the 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials and make his second straight Olympic team. Training partner Hobbs Kessler finished in second in 1:43.64 and Brooks Beast Brandon Miller, who went for the win, was third in 1:43.97.
Clayton Murphy, the winner of the last two Trials, finished back in 7th in a season’s best 1:44.80.
The Race
In a race where everyone was trying to get out quickly, Bryce Hoppel paced the field out through 200 in 24.08 with the entire field right behind him. Hoppel would continue to lead at 400 coming through in 51.20 with training partner Hobbs Kessler, who spent the first lap moving through the field, in second and Brandon Miller on Kessler’s shoulder in third. With 250 to go Miller made a strong move to the front on Hoppel’s outside, but never got in front of Hoppel as Hoppel immediately responded reclaiming the lead by 200 to go and keeping the rail as the pair had a little daylight on Kessler. Miller had to run on the outside shoulder of Hoppel around the bend and paid the price as he started to slide back as they hit the home straight. Hoppel started to pull away as Kessler, who had regained contact with 100 to go, made a move to pass Miller with 50 to go on his inside to claim second. Miller held on for third ahead of Josh Hoey, who set a PB of over a second in 4th in 1:44.12 (previous PB 1:45.35).
Hoppel became the 3rd fastest American of all-time and the 6th American ever under 1:43, as he led 5 of the 8 runners to personal bests.
Results
| Position | Name | Affiliation | Time | Note | 400m Split | 800m Split |
| 1 | Bryce Hoppel | adidas [26] OLY STD | 1:42.77 | MRPB | 51.2 | 51.57 |
| 2 | Hobbs Kessler | adidas [21] OLY STD | 1:43.64 | PB | 51.26 | 52.39 |
| 3 | Brandon Miller | Brooks/BROOKS Beasts TC [22] OLY STD | 1:43.97 | 51.48 | 52.49 | |
| 4 | Josh Hoey | adidas [24] OLY STD | 1:44.12 | PB | 51.59 | 52.54 |
| 5 | Jonah Koech | Under Armour [27] OLY STD | 1:44.32 | PB | 51.56 | 52.76 |
| 6 | Shane Cohen | Virginia [23] OLY STD | 1:44.65 | PB | 52.06 | 52.59 |
| 7 | Clayton Murphy | NIKE [29] | 1:44.80 | SB | 51.78 | 53.02 |
| 8 | Abraham Alvarado | Unattached [28] OLY STD | 1:44.90 | 51.32 | 53.58 | |
| 9 | Tinoda Matsatsa | Georgetown [19] | 1:45.70 | 51.53 | 54.18 |
Hoppel joins an exclusive club
The 1:42 American club is a very exclusive one with everyone who is a member of it except Hoppel and Duane Solomon having an outdoor medal at Worlds or the Olympics.
| 1 | 1:42.34 | Donavan BRAZIER | 15 APR 1997 | 1 | Khalifa International Stadium, Doha (QAT) | 01 OCT 2019 | ||
| 2 | 1:42.60 | Johnny GRAY | 19 JUN 1960 | 2f1 | Koblenz (GER) | 28 AUG 1985 | ||
| 3 | 1:42.77 | Bryce HOPPEL | 05 SEP 1997 | 1 | Eugene, Oregon (USA) | 30 JUN 2024 | ||
| 3 | 1:42.82 | Duane SOLOMON | 28 DEC 1984 | 4 | Olympic Stadium, London (GBR) | 09 AUG 2012 | ||
| 4 | 1:42.93 | Clayton MURPHY | 26 FEB 1995 | 3 | Estádio Olímpico, Rio de Janeiro (BRA) | 15 AUG 2016 | ||
| 5 | 1:42.95 | Nick SYMMONDS | 30 DEC 1983 | 5 | Olympic Stadium, London (GBR) | 09 AUG 2012 |
Bryce Hoppel’s new training setup is paying dividends as he ran an almost perfect even split
Hoppel, who had trouble sleeping last night, did not let that have any effect on his execution today. He executed exactly as he said he would, breaking 1:43 and winning dominantly. Hoppel says that he feels like has has not peaked and credits much of his jump in fitness to his new training setup at altitude in Flagstaff with Hobbs Kessler. He ranks fourth in the world this year and is in a prime position to bring home a medal in Paris. It is also worth noting that Hoppel ran almost even splits running 51.20 and 51.57, showing that he likely has more in the tank.
Hobbs Kessler 800m runner!?!
Hobbs said that she wanted to show his versatility off in this race and he did just that. Kessler said that he did not have the speed to get out with the leaders and as such made his way up to the front throughout the entire first lap of the race. Kessler said that just as Cole Hocker passed him in the 1500 when Miller passed him with 250 to go he was not confident in matching a move from that far out. Kessler instead waited until the final 100 and got the job done in what he viewed as another round of making the Olympics. He said it’s pretty cool that he is now part of the best 800 duo in the country and that the 800 came easier than the 1500 for him. Kessler will now do the double in Paris and is arguably in a better spot in the 800 where he is ranked eighth in the world. Kessler is the first man to make the U.S. 800 and 1500 Olympic team since 1976.
Brandon Miller Olympian
Miller said today he had an opportunity and either had to step up or let it pass. He stepped up big time with a third-place finish running 1:43.97 to book his spot in Team USA. Miller said that he thinks that he might have made a mistake making a move on the back straight as he thought that Hoppel might be fading but wasn’t, but thinks the move was necessary to keep the race fast. Miller thinks that having to run 1:43 to make the team speaks to the strength of U.S. distance running right now and that could not be more true.
Hoppel has said in the past that the U.S. 800 men need to do better on the world stage and that looks like it will be the case this year. In Tokyo, the U.S. only put Clayton Murphy in the final, where he finished last. This year the U.S has three of the top nine men in the field by season’s best and looks to pack the 800 final and bring home a medal.
