While it’s been a busy couple of months for Midland native Bryce Hoppel, the Olympic track athlete has made time to come back and visit with the community and talk about his career and his time at the Paris Olympics this past summer.
The 800-meter runner spoke to students and staff at Holy Cross Catholic High School Thursday at the Holy Cross Gymnasium in Midland.
This past summer, Hoppel made history in Paris by not only qualifying for the 800-meter finals for the first time in his career at the Olympics but also posting the fastest American time, clocking in at one minute and 41.67 seconds, despite coming up one place short of a medal at the Stade de France.
Before his presentation, Hoppel talked with the media Thursday.
“It’s just awesome to be here,” Hoppel said. “It’s great to give back to the community. It’s kind of like where I started back at St. Ann’s where I got my start in track and field. So it’s awesome to have this full-circle moment.”
Like the students at Holy Cross, Hoppel himself had high goals as a child and wanted to tell them that they can accomplish anything.
“I think one of the main messages is that I once was sitting there in their shoes, a kid with big dreams of being an Olympic athlete,” Hoppel said. “My faith is a big part of that and being brought up in the Catholic church, I think a lot of that is what has had a lot to do with me being successful. Helping them and making them dream big and realize that they can accomplish anything if they set their minds to it, that’s what I want to get out to those kids.”
Hoppel, who was brought up in the Catholic church, talked about how his faith has been a big part of his life and athletic career.
“It’s helped me such,” Hoppel said of his faith. “I felt a lot of weight on my shoulders at times and didn’t know who to go to. I didn’t know how to process those moments of high stress. I think my faith in god was my safe space and the one that helped me along. I couldn’t have done it all on my own.”
Hoppel graduated from Midland High after winning state in track before going on to post more accomplishments at the University of Kansas.
He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the Summer of 2021 where he came up short of advancing to the finals.
He’s won numerous titles throughout his career.
In 2022, he earned his first U.S. Outdoor title, winning the 800-meters in a time of 1:44.60.
He competed at the World Championships the next month in Eugene, Ore. but was unable to advance to the finals.
In 2023, he defended his indoor and outdoor 800-meter titles, winning by times of 1:45.92 and 1:46.20, respectively.
He added a seventh-place finish in a time of 1:46.02 at the World Championships last year in Budapest, Hungary.
Earlier this year, Hoppel added another World Indoor title, taking first in a time of 1:33.92 in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
At this year’s Olympic Trials, Hoppel punched his ticket to the games after winning the 800-meter final in 1:42.77.
He said the biggest thing to stand out for him at this year’s Olympics was how supportive the community was.
“It feels incredible,” Hoppel said. “Even now, going around town and seeing all the happy faces and all the love and support, that’s the coolest thing. It’s one thing to be the fastest runner on the track. It’s another thing to be from such an incredible city that raised me and I think that’s my biggest takeaway.”
He talked about what was going through his head during the finals in Paris.
“That was one of those stressful moments where you don’t know how to handle it but I got out there and one of the biggest things was being able to represent,” Hoppel said. “It was so cool to hear from the people that I was representing. I want to do my best to represent Midland and do my best to represent Texas and the United States. I left it all there in the finals. I came away with a lot to be proud of. I fell short of getting a medal but I’m still happy that I got to represent as best as I could.”
