Ollie Hoare (athletics) produced a stunning surge in the closing stages of the men’s 1500m at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, beating one of the strongest fields at the Games which included the reigning world champion and the Olympic silver medallist. The last Australian to win the event had been the legendary Herb Elliott at the Cardiff 1958 Games when it was the mile. Hoare dedicated the win to his grandfather Fred Hoare – a life member of Sydney’s Sutherland District Athletics Club and World War II veteran – who had passed away just a few days earlier.

2022 proved to be a breakthrough year for the rising middle-distance star who had celebrated his 25th birthday in January by smashing the Australian and Oceania indoor records in winning the prestigious Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in New York as well as the outdoor equivalent at the Bislett Games in Oslo in June.

‘Ollie’ started as a swimmer, competing at state level, but with a father (Greg) who had excelled at running in beach events, the switch seemed inevitable. After finishing high school at Trinity Grammar in Sydney, he followed good friend Morgan McDonald to the University of Wisconsin where he spent several years on the NCAA circuit and graduated with an economics degree before returning to Australia in 2020. The following year, he made the final of the 1500m at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics where he finished 11th.

In February 2023, he ran at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Bathurst – his first national team on home soil – where he led off to win bronze in the mixed 4x2km relay, his first global medal. After recovering from a groin injury which forced him out of the Budapest world championships later in the year, Hoare was in career-best form heading into his second Olympics in Paris having won the London Diamond League mile a fortnight earlier, but a poor heat and repechage saw him miss a spot in the semi-finals.