Who is Bryce Hoppel's coach and where does he train? All about the 800m American runner's track mentor

Modified Aug 10, 2024 15:00 GMT

Bryce Hoppel will toe the line for the men’s 800m final on Saturday night, hoping to go one place better than he did at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In Tokyo, Bryce finished third in the first round before finishing fifth in the semifinal and missing out on a slot in the final.

After his Tokyo Olympics setback, Bryce Hoppel has been consistent in his performances, leaving many curious about the person behind his impeccable results. Hoppel’s dominance started during his college days when he won two NCAA Championships titles.

Bryce Hoppel has been impressive in the previous years, qualifying for the 2022 and 2023 World Championships in Oregon and Budapest respectively.

Hoppel trains with the Very Nice Track Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The person responsible for Bryce Hoppel’s performance is Michael Whittlesey. The veteran tactician currently serves as the assistant track coach for the University of Kansas and has worked with Hoppel for approximately seven years.

Hoppel started working with Whittlesey in his college days having studied a Bachelor of Business Finance degree at the University of Kansas. Whittlesey will be entering his 11th year on the job and had previously coached at the University of North Carolina before moving to Kansas.

On his part, Whittlesey did his undergraduate at the University of Connecticut where he pursued sports medicine and graduated in 1990. He pursued further studies, doing a Master's degree in exercise physiology and later a doctorate in philosophy of sports seven years later. He was an athlete before becoming a coach. Whittlesey competed at the 1995 Boston Marathon, becoming the first American to finish the race.

Bryce Hoppel’s coach is married to Carol and together, they have been blessed with two children. He has a daughter, Samantha Paige, and a son Ryan Allen.

Coach Michael Whittlesey lauds Bryce Hoppel as one of the fastest 800m runners

Michael Whittlesey has worked with Bryce Hoppel for seven years and has claimed that he has yet to meet an 800m runner like the 26-year-old. The veteran tactician, while speaking to "Runner’s World" in June this year, claimed that Hoppel trains differently from typical 800m runners and his lighting speed sets him apart from his rivals.

"Bryce trains completely differently than any 800 runners I’ve ever coached or any 800 runners I’ve ever talked to," Whittlesey said.

"His natural foot speed doesn’t need a ton of sharpening. His competitiveness puts him in that situation," he added.

He descends on the purple track for the men’s 800m final hoping to make an impression as America’s sole representative. In the final, he takes on a formidable field including the third-fastest 800m runner in history, Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati, as well as the reigning world 800m champion, Marco Arop.

Kenyan youngster and the reigning world 800m silver medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi and Frenchman Gabriel Tual will also be in the mix.