Ollie Hoare on track, eyes Paris Games, after 10-month injury battle

Commonwealth champion Ollie Hoare is hoping he makes less mistakes on the track than he did with his hair styling as he makes his return after a 10-month absence through injury.

Ollie Hoare (centre) is on track in his preparation for the Paris Olympics. Picture: Getty Images

Commonwealth champion Ollie Hoare is hoping he makes less mistakes on the track than he did with his hair styling.

The Australian 1500m record holder is making his return after 10 months off because of injury at the Olympic trials in Adelaide and he will be doing it with blue hair.

“It was supposed to be dark grey,” Hoare explained. “I went to practice and my coach was like, ‘What the hell is in your hair?’. It was purple and I haven’t been able to get it to grey.

“I look like a blue bottle. I was like, ‘I don’t want to stand out’, and yet I stand out.”

Hoare stood out at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games two years ago when he stormed down the outside to win gold and seemed to have the world at his feet when in his first major race of 2023 he broke the national record in Oslo.

Ollie Hoare is eyeing Olympic success to go with the Commonwealth gold he claimed in 2022. Picture: AFP

But something happened at the start of that race which would send his career into a spiral.

“At the start of the Oslo race I felt a big jolt in my pelvis and that’s when it was like, ‘OK we need to get this checked out’,” Hoare said.

“It wasn’t like a soreness which we can ignore and it turned out to be osteitis pubis inflammation.”

His American coach Dathan Ritzenhein then gave him an ultimatum: “Do you want a medal in Budapest (world championships) or a medal in Paris.”

Hoare chose the latter and so started months of rehabilitation, including endless hours in the swimming pool, which has finally led back to his homeland and lining up at the national championships beginning on Thursday.

“It was very frustrating, particularly the first few months, and then I’ve just been training in the shadows, sitting in the corner waiting for my shot,” he said.

Ollie Hoare Hoare stood out at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games two years ago when he stormed down the outside to win gold. Picture: Michael Klein

The enforced lay-off didn’t just help physically but the 27-year-old revealed he’d been struggling mentally even when he had his career breakthrough in Birmingham.

“You can’t lose sight of the little things and just because everything is going well on one side, it doesn’t mean the other is the same,” Hoare said.

“There was a lot of head noise going on and therapy definitely helped a lot, being able to talk about adversity is a great thing.”

He has reached out to a number of his contemporaries, New Zealand’s two-time Olympic medallist Nick Willis and 2016 Olympic champion Matthew Centrowitz, about dealing with mid-career setbacks.

Australian 1500m runner Ollie Hoare at the Alexander Stadium track where he won gold. Picture: Michael Klein

“They all had adversity in some way, whether it was surgery or didn’t make a team, and I spoke to them about how they then developed as a person or an athlete so the next time there is always a gold medal, or medal, or incredible achievement from that,” he said.

“That shows the trend is there (to come back better) if you are willing to take that vulnerability with it.”

He faces a tough task first-up given the depth of the 1500m ranks in Australia with Hoare taking on the likes of 2021 Olympic finalist Stewart McSweyn and 17-year-old wunderkid Cameron Myers whose junior exploits have him being compared with Norway’s Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

Ollie Hoare of Australia wins the men's one mile event at the Maurie Plant athletics meet. Picture: AFP

“I haven’t asked Jakob about Cam, I don’t know if he is paying attention to it but I’m sure he is because he does love all his records,” Hoare said.

“When I looked at his (Myers) age and saw birthdate 2006 I almost fell off my chair as I’m more than 10 years older.

“The lad is incredibly mature already, I hope he keeps continuing and he keeps crushing it. I’m excited to race him and he’s a very good thing for the sport.”

Originally published as Ollie Hoare on track, eyes Paris Games, after 10-month injury battle