Josh Hoey’s Pro Career Stalled Early. But Now He’s On A Hot Streak.

You could argue that Josh Hoey never should have turned pro out of high school.

The Downingtown, Pennsylvania native set a high school national record at 800 meters over his indoor season in 2018 and signed a professional contract with Adidas that August, becoming just the second distance runner since Drew Hunter to jump from the preps to pros in track and field – while also opting against signing with national power Oregon.

But the move had its drawbacks. Hoey never placed higher than sixth in a U.S. championship in the ensuing four years after high school and only reached his first U.S. outdoor final last year at the age of 24.

While peers like Bryce Hoppel, Yared Nuguse and Cole Hocker won various NCAA finals for Kansas, Notre Dame and Oregon from 2018 to 2022 and then became certified stars at the international level, Hoey was mired in plateaus that never saw him eclipse the successes he saw in high school.

“My first year as a pro, I wrote down a bunch of goals and the last one was to make the outdoor final, and I’m here like five years later and it’s like, ‘Wow,’” Hoey told an assembled corps of reporters in June during the U.S. Olympic Trials. “I made a lot of mistakes coming up to now.”

But after transitioning through “five to six coaches” over a five-year period and landing on Justin Rinaldi in October of 2023, Hoey finally began to find what he was looking for.

On Sunday, the 25-year-old set his second American indoor record in two weeks at 800 meters, clocking a world-leading time of 1:43.24 at the USATF Indoor Championships to qualify for his first World Championships as a member of Team USA.

“I was feeling good today, and that kind of just put me in the front,” Hoey told reporters after the win on Sunday. “I might as well take it.”

The performance lowered his previous American record of 1:43.90, which he set just two weeks ago at the Millrose Games in New York City, and it gave Hoey his third American record outright over the indoor season, following his mark of 2:14.48 at 1,000 meters in January.

How did Hoey find the Midas touch?

One Big Coaching Move Made The Difference For Josh Hoey

Like all big momentum swings, Hoey’s transformation was a product of various factors: a lot of self-work, patience and the right coaching philosophy.

In June, Hoey said it was Rinaldi’s vision that struck a chord.

Based in Melbourne, Australia, the head coach of Fast 8 Track Club, Hoey said, focused more on layering his program with workouts that would repeat and included more lactate threshold sessions – a concentration which ultimately improved Hoey’s resolve late in races.

The approach was “mathematical” and based on progression and included carve-outs for finger prick testing – a way to scientifically identify lactate levels during workouts.

Rinaldi said this of Hoey in an interview with Citius Magazine in April: “The main thing we are focused on with Josh is actually pulling him back. He wants to do more, and sometimes you just have to do a little bit less.”

The spiritual side, Hoey added, had other effects. He maintained a “talking therapist” in Germany, kept a strong faith and maintained a strong support with his family, which includes his brothers, Jaxon and Jonah, who also are strong middle-distance runners – Josh trains with his brother, Jaxon, while his father and high school coach contribute by monitoring his training.

Now, Hoey wasn’t perfect, either. There were ebbs and flows.

“To be honest, I’m a very emotional guy,” Hoey said in June, “So that comes out in some of the training and that’s burned me a lot in the past.”

But importantly, Hoey never gave up on himself, or his dream.

In 2024, he started to emerge.

Josh Hoey’s Timeline Tells A Larger Story

Last February, Hoey secured a personal best for the first time since 2020 at 800 meters, reaching the U.S. Indoor final in Albuquerque in a time of 1:47.04.

While he finished third in the final, failing to qualify for the World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, larger signs began to show. A month later, he lowered it to 1:45.54 at the Pepsi Florida Relays and then he doubled back to Florida a few weeks later, clocking a big 1,500 meter PR of 3:38.63 at the Tom Jones Memorial.

By June, Hoey was feeling as strong as ever and won his semifinal heat at the U.S. Trials in 1:45.73. While he later finished fourth in the U.S. final – thereby missing out on a trip to the Paris Olympics – the consolation was in the fact that he had run 1:44.12, a time that was fourth-fastest ever in a U.S. final.

Hoey didn’t let his feelings dampen his ambition.

In July, he flew to Europe and pocketed the first sub-1:44 of his career, clocking a time of 1:43.80 for 800 meters in Belgium – a performance which finished the year No. 21 on the world rankings.

In September, Hoey added a mile time of 3:48.90 at the Fifth Avenue Mile, finishing only behind Olympic silver medalist Josh Kerr.

What’s Next For Josh Hoey?

On Sunday, Hoey qualified for his first U.S. team after winning the 800 meter final inside the Ocean Breeze Facility in Staten Island, New York.

All things considered, it wasn’t a surprise.

“I think first yesterday was good, just to get activated,” Hoey said Sunday. “Then I was ready to rip.”

The real question, now, will be what Hoey will make of his first World Championship appearance, this one coming in Nanjing, China from March 21-23.

A year ago, Hoppel won his first career gold medal indoors, peaking at the right time to win in Glasgow with a time of 1:44.92.

“It’s a long season, so I just have to keep this momentum going,” Hoey said.

Nearly seven years after turning pro out of high school, Josh Hoey is at the top of his game and might just be the man to beat at the World Championships.