USATF Indoor Championships – News – Coached From Afar, Hoey Poised To Finally Make First National Team

COACHED FROM AFAR, HOEY POISED TO FINALLY MAKE FIRST NATIONAL TEAM
By David Monti, @d9monti.bsky.social
(c) 2025 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved – Used with permission.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (21-Feb) — At this morning’s press conference in advance of this weekend’s USATF Indoor Championships presented by Prevagen at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Staten Island, rising middle distance athlete Josh Hoey sat on the dais next to Grant Holloway, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion in the 110m hurdles.  Holloway, who hasn’t lost an indoor hurdles race since 2014, breezily conversed with the assembled media, clearly confident that he would win his event this weekend and likely go on to win his third straight World Athletics Indoor Championships title next month.

“Yes, it sucks that it’s in China,” Holloway joked about those championships, which will be held in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing from March 21 to 23.  “Nobody wants to take that 18 hour flight.”

Nobody, perhaps, but Hoey.  The 25 year-old, who set national records this indoor season in the 800m (1:43.90) and 1000m (2:14.48), came achingly close to making two national teams last year for both the World Athletics Indoor Championships and the Paris Olympic Games.  This year is something of a do-over for the Pennsylvania native where he can qualify for world championships both indoors and outdoors.

“I missed both teams last year by just one place,” lamented Hoey, who finished third in the 800m at the USATF Indoor Championships and fourth at the USA Olympic Team Trials in the same discipline.  “This is kind of, hopefully, a little bit of what feels like redemption.”  The adidas-sponsored athlete added: “I’m not taking anything for granted.”

Remarkably, Hoey goes into these championships as the favorite.  Reigning champion Bryce Hoppel has scratched from the meet, and only Jonah Koech (1:44.82) and Brandon Miller (1:45.60) have run sub-1:46 so far this season.  Of course, athletes like Isaiah Harris (personal best of 1:44.42), Brannon Kidder (1:44.99), or Abe Alvarado (1:44.44) could rally and challenge Hoey, who is the fastest man in the world so far this year.

Hoey’s recent success has stemmed from an unusual approach to training.  His workout partners are his two brothers, Jonah (23) and Jaxson (27).  The trio have developed their own workout protocols born of years of running together.

“A lot of the workouts we have, like, a huddle,” Hoey explained.  “We…