Aussie Ollie Hoare derailed by social media abuse in 1500m at Paris Olympics
An Aussie track star has opened up about the abuse he received on social media while competing for his country in Paris.
Aussie track star Olli Hoare has opened up about the abuse he received on social media after failing to reach the semi finals of the 1500m at the Paris Olympics.
Hoare, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and Diamond League race winner, said he copped a series of abusive messages after a disappointing performance in the heat.
The 27-year-old then crashed out of the event in the last-chance repechage round as he attempted to keep his Olympic dream alive.
In a candid interview, a shattered Hoare told media that the messages had impacted his preparations for Saturday’s race.
“My Instagram has been really bad after that (the heat),” he said.
“It was a terrible race and I’ve been abused on Instagram so I had to delete it.
“I probably should have deleted Instagram before I went into the village but I miss my friends. It’s an easy way of communication when you’re not living at home.
“So that was tough. I think that kind of affected me a little bit, I haven’t slept great.”
The Sydney-born runner also said trolls had targeted a picture of his partner in recent days, and expressed the scrutiny athletes felt at the top level.
“If I have a bad race or if something goes wrong there could be a possibility of that happening and I have to just tell it to piss off,” he said.
“They don’t know that I couldn’t walk in November, they don’t know what a lot of athletes go through and sometimes it’s their day, sometimes it isn’t.”
In 2022, Hoare smashed Australian records and won gold at the Commonwealth Games but also battled anxiety and depression that had him considering retirement from the sport.
Hoare’s Olympic preparation was also derailed by a sports hernia in his groin, that saw him withdraw from the World Championships in August and still unable to walk in November last year.
But his preparation appeared to be going well after he won the Emsley Carr Mile days before the start of the Olympics.
The Guardian reports Hoare said he’d been struggling with confidence coming in to the Paris Games and was worried he had “disappointed” the nation.
“I just don’t feel confident, I’ve ran two 3:31s (in 2024), won a Diamond League, I still have no confidence. I don’t know what’s going on.”
The mental health of athletes was thrust into the spotlight with the heartbreaking interview of Australian boxer Harry Garside last week.
Garside, a Tokyo bronze medallist, said he felt “like a failure” in a ringside interview moments after his round of 16 loss to Hungary’s Richard Kovacs.
“I feel pretty numb right now,” he said.
“I’m sure the next month or two will be quite challenging, quite hard. I fear for my mind, it gets a better of me.
“I feel like I’ve let myself down and let Australia down mate, but what do you do?”
There was an outpouring of support for the 27-year-old, who subsequently revealed in an interview with News Corp that he has dealt with suicidal ideation.
He says he’s recently fallen in love and was excited for his next chapter.
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