PARIS - Former Kansas Track and Field star Bryce Hoppel broke the American record in the men's 800m after running a 1:41.67 in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games final. He finished in fourth place overall.
Hoppel, who achieved a new personal best in the final, ran 1:45.24 in the opening round, moving onto the semis with ease. In the Olympic semifinals, he shaved off some time to finish second overall in the field with a 1:43.41.
The gold medal winner, Emmanuel Wanyoni of Kenya, ran 1:41.19, followed by Marco Arop of Canada in a 1:41.20 finish for silver. Hoppel was hot on the heels of Algeria's Djamel Sedjati, who secured the bronze with a time of 1:41.50.
Hoppel's performance is the sixth fastest 800m time ever, and the first sub-1:42 run of his career. His time of 1:41.67 would have won gold in both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics, indicating the depth of this year's 800m field.