After his spectacular runs Josh Hoey was the obvious favorite at the world Indoor Championships in Nanjing. But at the start both Eliott Crestan and Brandon Miller also fought for the lead, so important at an indoor race.

Hoey managed to take the lead though, ahead of Crestan and Miller. But as they reached halfway in a superfast 50.63 Miller sprinted into the lead. That had taken much out of him though, and Hoey retook the lead before they reached the bell. Meanwhile Samuel Chapple and Elvin Josué Canales were closing as well.

On the final lap Miller faded, Hoey grimly hung on with Crestan getting ever closer. In the end the finish line came just too early for the Belgian to overtake the tiring Hoey. Behind them Canales celebrated his bronze as he crossed the finish line.

It all concludes a very impressive indoor season by Hoey. First he won at the Millrose Games in an ultra-fast time. He then went even faster as he became number two on the all-time indoor world rankings when he won the US Championship. And now he has rounded off his indoor season with the World Indoor Gold!

    Result:
 1  Josh Hoey              USA   1:44.77
 2  Eliott Crestan         BEL   1:44.81
 3  Elvin Josué Canales    ESP   1:45.03
 4  Samuel Chapple         NED   1:45.55
 5  Brandon Miller         USA   1:46.44
 6  Tom Dradiga            UGA   1:50.19

Everything went orange on this particular day at the European Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands. The host nation collected no less than five gold medals turning the hall into a wild celebration party. Several gold medals, such as the two on the relays, may have been expected. But Samuel Chapple winning 800m gold was a total surprise.

Chapple was far from a favourite. Eliott Crestan, who had a stellar season last year, was the favourite, and Elvin Josue Canales and Catalin Tecuceanu would probably be his main rivals, although one could never ignore Mark English. Chapple had never broken 1:45 in his life. He only just qualified from the heats as a fastest loser. And at 26 he could hardly be called a young talent either.

For a long time the race went as expected. Crestan took the lead, Canales and English followed. Chapple was nowhere near the lead. The pace was fast as Crestan was obviously trying to win it from the front. But on the final lap Chapple, on the waves of the home crowd cheering him on, moved forward as Canales faded. And around the final bend it was clear that Crestan was struggling too. Chapple came closer and closer as the Belgian ran out of gas just too soon and was beaten on the line.

Chapple was both ecstatic and baffled by his success. To run a new personal best in an indoor final is definitely not something seen very often. Crestan had to settle for silver. Amazingly English won his fifth European medal, after indoor bronze in 2019, indoor silver in 2015, and two more outdoor bronzes in 2022 and 2014!

    Result:
 1  Samuel Chapple        NED  1:44.88
 2  Eliott Crestan        BEL  1:44.92
 3  Mark English          IRL  1:45.46
 4  Catalin Tecuceanu     ITA  1:45.57
 5  Elvin Josue Canales   ESP  1:45.88
 6  Ryan Clarke           NED  1:46.47

Josh Hoey had shown tremendous form recently, and many felt he was the clear favourite at the US indoor Championships. But he displayed such a tremendous run that he surpassed expectations once again.

Right from the start Hoey went into the lead and kept driving forward. The halfway split was recorded as 50.36, fast for any race, and certainly for an indoor race. Brandon Miller was hanging on, but over the last lap Hoey was way too strong and finished way ahead in a stunning 1:43.24!

It's yet another American record, improving his own mark by 0.64 seconds. Within a few weeks Hoey has lowered that record by almost a full second. His time is also the second fastest ever seen, with only the legendary Wilson Kipketer ever having run faster, when he set the World Indoor record at 1:42.67 way back in 1997.

Next stop for Josh will be the World Indoor Championships in Nanjing. If he can maintain this level for a few weeks more it is very hard to see anyone stopping him from winnnig the World Indoor gold medal.

    Result:
 1  Josh Hoey              USA   1:43.24
 2  Brandon Miller         USA   1:44.26
 3  Wes Ferguson           USA   1:44.92
 4  Isaiah Harris          USA   1:45.64
 5  Jonah Koech            USA   1:45.82
 6  Shane Cohen            USA   1:46.73

The famous Millrose games provided yet another fast indoor race. Josh Hoey had improved himself spectacularly in 2024 and showed how he can be major force on the 800m. When he took the lead Bryce Hoppel, who finished fourth in the Olympic final in Paris last year in a new American record, settled in behind him. It seemed a matter of time before he would seize the lead and secure victory.

Not so. Although Hoppel ran a new personal best in a time faster than the previous American record, Josh grimly held on and not only finished first, he also beat Donavan Brazier's American record by 0.31 seconds.

His time of 1:43.90 lifts Hoey to number three on the all time indoor list, behind legend Wilson Kipketer and Elliot Giles. It was only the third time in history that three athletes ran below 1:44 in a single indoor race. And in sixth place young talent Cooper Lutkenhaus, just seventeen years old, ran a world best for the under eighteen category.

    Result:
 1  Josh Hoey           USA   1:43.90
 2  Bryce Hoppel        USA   1:44.19
 3  Jonah Koech         USA   1:44.82
 4  Mark English        IRL   1:45.15
 5  Alex Amankwah       GHA   1:45.82
 6  Cooper Lutkenhaus   USA   1:46.86
 7  Shane Cohen         USA   1:47.01

The Diamond League final in Brussels was the last race of a long season. It was a star-studded field, but the evening was chilly, so really fast times were not to be expected. But Wanyonyi seemed intent on winning the evening and finishing his season on a high.

The pacemaker did a decent job, but Marco Arop followed so eagerly that he passed the pacemaker just before the bell already, in 49.28. Arop may have hoped for a repeat of what happened in Silesia, but this time he was unable to run away from the field. Instead Wyclife Kinyamal, Djamel Sedjati and Emmanuel Wanyonyi stayed in close contention.

As they went into the final bend Wanyonyi seemed to lose touch a little, and Kinyamal seemed to run out of steam completely, so it was Sedjati who challenged for the lead, and as Arop was tiring Sedjati worked himself into the lead. But on the last fifty meters Wanyonyi suddenly sprinted forwards and overtook Sedjati with just two or three strides to go.

Another win for Wanyonyi in a near perfect season. Olympic Champion, Diamond League champion, he ran 1:41 four times (which had never been done before) and is now joint number two on the all time list. And he only just turned twenty last month!

    Result:
 1  Emmanuel Wanyonyi    KEN   1:42.70
 2  Djamel Sedjati       ALG   1:42.86
 3  Marco Arop           CAN   1:43.25
 4  Gabriel Tual         FRA   1:43.67
 5  Eliott Crestan       BEL   1:43.74
 6  Wyclife Kinyamal     KEN   1:44.00
 7  Andreas Kramer       SWE   1:44.30
 8  Tshepiso Masalela    BOT   1:44.34
 9  Ben Pattison         GBR   1:44.64