Josh Hoey (born November 1, 1999) is an American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete. He is the 2025 world indoor champion in the 800 meters, and the American record holder in the short track

800 meters The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

and 1000 meters, with times of 1:43.24 and 2:14.48 respectively.

Career

2018–2024

Hoey attended Bishop Shanahan High School in

Downingtown, Pennsylvania Downingtown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, west of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 7,898. Downingtown was settled by European colonists ...

. As a senior, he set the U.S. high school national record in the indoor

, with a time of 1:47.67 (since broken by

Cooper Lutkenhaus Cooper Lutkenhaus (born December 19, 2008) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 800 meters. He holds the high school record in this event outdoors and indoors, with times of 1:45.45 and 1:46.86 respectively, both set in 2 ...

in 2025). He competed at the

2018 IAAF World U20 Championships The 2018 World Athletics U20 Championships, World U20 Championships in Athletics, also known as the World Junior Championships, was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born no earlier than 1 January 1999) ...

Tampere, Finland Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

, running 1:48.07 in the semifinals of the 800 meters. In 2018, originally intending to compete for the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, Hoey turned pro after high school, signing with

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

. He is one of three U.S. men's distance runners to turn pro immediately after high school, alongside Drew Hunter in 2016 and

Hobbs Kessler Hobbs Kessler (born March 15, 2003) is an American middle-distance runner. He competes professionally for Adidas, having turned professional directly after high school. He holds the North American U20 record in the 1500 meters, having run 3:34. ...

in 2021. From 2018 to 2023, Hoey struggled to improve and cycled through five coaches, including Terrence Mahon (who had coached Hoey remotely since seventh grade), Matthew Centrowitz Sr., and

Rana Reider Rana Reider (born July 8, 1970) is an American track and field coach, who specializes in coaching the sprinting events, long jump, and triple jump. Throughout his career, he has coached Christian Taylor, Andre De Grasse, Bryan Clay, Marcell Jac ...

, before finding success with Justin Rinaldi. At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Hoey finished fourth in the

800 meter The 800 metres, or 800 meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event sin ...

final, with a personal best time of 1:44.12. A few weeks later at the Moore-Guldensporen Meeting in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Hoey improved his 800 meter personal best to 1:43.80. In September 2024, he competed in the

Fifth Avenue Mile The Fifth Avenue Mile is an annual road race on Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States. The race begins at 80th Street and heads twenty blocks south to 60th Street. First held on September 26, 1981, the race is currently organized by ...

, finishing second to Josh Kerr in 3:48.9. In December 2024 at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, Hoey ran a personal best of 3:52.61 in the indoor

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

2025

On January 18, at the Quaker Invitational at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, Hoey set a new American record in the short track 1000 meters, with a time of 2:14.48. This broke Shane Streich's previous record of 2:16.16 by almost two seconds. Hoey's time is the second fastest in indoor history, behind Ayanleh Souleiman's world record of 2:14.20. On February 2, Hoey won the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilometers ...

at the New Balance Grand Prix, in a new personal best of 3:33.66, beating Olympians

Grant Fisher Grant Jackson Fisher (born April 22, 1997) is an American middle- and long-distance runner who is the world record holder in the short track 3000 m and 5000 m. Fisher also holds American records in the 3000 m, two mile, and 10,000 m events. ...

and Olli Hoare. On February 8, Hoey won the

over

Bryce Hoppel Bryce Hoppel ( ; born September 5, 1997) is an American middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800 meters. He is the reigning 800 meters world indoor champion having won gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships - Men's 8 ...

at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games are an annual indoor athletics (track & field) meet held each February in New York City. Among the world's most prestigious indoor track meets, the games started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after ...

, winning in a new American record of 1:43.90, while Hoppel was just behind in 1:44.19. On February 23, Hoey won a national title in the 800 meters at the 2025 USATF Indoor Track and Field Championships in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He improved his area record and national record to 1:43.24, splitting 50.36 for the first 400 meters and 52.89 for the second 400 meters. This time places Hoey as the second fastest athlete of all time in the indoor 800 meters, with only

Wilson Kipketer Wilson Kosgei Kipketer (born 12 December 1972) is a Danish former middle distance runner. With a personal best of 1:41.11, Kipketer is tied with Emmanuel Wanyonyi as the second fastest of all time over the 800 meter distance, behind David ...

, who holds the world record of 1:42.67, having run faster. On March 23, Hoey won a world title in the

at the

2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships The 20th World Athletics Indoor Championships were held from 21 to 23 March 2025 in Nanjing, People's Republic of China, at the newly built Nanjing's Cube gymnasium in the Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park. Nanjing was originally due to host the ...

Nanjing, China Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

. Hoey was nearly caught at the finish line by

Elliot Crestan Eliott Crestan (born 22 February 1999) is a Belgian middle-distance runner specialising in the 800 metres. In this discipline, he won bronze medals at the 2018 World U20 Championships and the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships. In 2024, ...

of Belgium, but managed to remain 0.04 seconds ahead of Crestan to win in 1:44.77. On June 15, at the Stockholm Diamond League, Hoey set a new outdoor personal best in the 800 meters, with a time of 1:42.43. This time places Hoey as the third fastest American over 800 meters, behind

Donavan Brazier Donavan Brazier (born April 15, 1997) is an American Middle-distance running, middle-distance runner. He holds the List of United States junior records in athletics#Men, American junior record in the men's 800 meters and won the 2019 World Champ ...

(1:42.34) and

(1:41.67). On July 11, he improved his personal best to 1:42.01 at

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events. Herculis is now part of the Diamond League. Editions World records Over the course of its histo ...

Personal life

Hoey comes from a running family. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the Hoey family built a track on their family farm outside

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Hoey often trains with his brothers Jonah and Jaxson. His father Fran is a financial advisor and former athlete that has invested in his sons' track careers.

Achievements and titles

International competitions

Circuit performances

National championships

References

External links

Josh Hoey
at

World Athletics World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoey, Josh 1999 births Living people American male middle-distance runners Track and field athletes from Philadelphia Track and field athletes from Pennsylvania World Athletics Indoor Championships winners