When Olli Hoare failed to progress from the first heat in the 1,500 metres at the Paris Olympics, the abuse started.
He received “horrible” comments and messages on Instagram and reluctantly spent time deleting them before his repechage — where he also missed out.
“I felt tired but ready to go mentally and physically, just wanted to give it the best possible shot, and didn’t run well,” he told ABC Sport from his training base in Boulder, Colorado.
Hoare competing in Paris. (Getty Images: Alex Pantlin)
“When you’re at a very low point mentally or physically, it’s very easy for things to seep through that usually don’t seep through, and that sort of stuff got to me quite a bit.
“The negative feedback was mostly from people that weren’t track and field fans. It was mostly the general public.
“I think why it was so impactful to me personally, because it was Australian people that were saying these things.”
Learning from the negatives
Hoare became familiar to most casual sports fans after his stunning win at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, earning comparisons to the legendary Herb Elliott.
Hoare produced an incredible burst on the final straight to win Commonwealth Games gold. (Getty Images: David Ramos)
But a challenging 2023 on and off the track, including mental health struggles, and serious injuries, hampered his preparation for Paris.
After making the 1,500m final at his first Games in Tokyo, falling short in Paris was already hard to stomach, compounded by the social media abuse.
The 27-year-old took a break from social media in the aftermath of the Games, seeking support from Athletics Australia, the Australian Olympic Committee, World Athletics, and his family.
He wasn’t the only one that faced abuse, prompting World Athletics to offer 25 athletes year-round AI protection on their accounts.
Now, months later, Hoare is able to take the positives from what was a “very, very challenging Olympics”.
“When I made the Tokyo Olympics, no-one really knew who I was,” he said.
“And then going into Olympic Games, being a Commonwealth Games champion and having a reputation of running very well, and executing races more at that level — when you don’t do that, you get repercussions from it, which is just a part of the sport.
“And that’s something I learnt I have to deal with, and it’s given me a thicker spine … but also a better mindset of how to deal with it.”
No regrets in ‘bonus time’
A cruel slip was all it took to take a bronze medal out of Anabelle Smith’s grasp in Paris.
An error cost Anabelle Smith and Maddison Keeney a bronze medal in Paris. (AAP: Joel Carret)
Smith and Maddison Keeney were on track for the podium in the women’s 3-metre synchronised springboard, when Smith’s error on the final dive ended those hopes.
“It was really tough in the moment. You train for the Olympics for a long time to try and get on that podium, and we really knew that we deserved to be there,” she told ABC Sport.
“Unfortunate I had that mistake, but it’s definitely not a reflection of where we were at, and definitely not a reflection of my career.”
Although her fourth Olympics didn’t go to plan, the 31-year-old’s healthy perspective has led to her recent decision to retire from the sport, leaving behind no regrets.
“I ruptured my Achilles [heel] at the end of 2022 so getting back into the sport, let alone making it to my fourth Olympics, was something that I was never really guaranteed,” she said.
“It was bonus time in my career.
Smith has been able to move on from Paris and retire after a successful career. (AAP: Joel Carret)
“I was just so lucky to be in Paris. If it could be in my control, I didn’t want to end [my career] on my way down, I wanted to still be performing at my best.
“And 100 per cent hand on heart, and my coaches would say the same thing, I was diving the best that I ever had.
“I’m really grateful that I was able to be there and experience that, I had all my family over there. So it was really special to just celebrate my career with everyone, and to feel that support wrapped around me as well.”
Creating the right culture
Heartbreak hit the Australian women’s rugby sevens team in Paris too.
The gold medal favourites suffered last-minute defeats in the semifinals and the bronze medal match to leave empty-handed.
Emotions ran high after the Australian women’s rugby sevens team missed the podium in Paris. (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer)
Seeing them in tears at full-time was painful viewing.
“I don’t think we could have done anything more, we put our hearts out there,” star player Maddison Levi told ABC Sport.
“We played with so much [heart] and little errors let the game slip away.
“Our team’s all about culture and being there for one another. So you have to feel it, you work so hard for it.”
Moving on and seeking help
The pain, the missed opportunities, the alternate possibilities — they’ve been banished to the background.
The Australian women won the opening leg of the new World Series in Dubai. (Getty Images: Christopher Pike)
For the sevens team, the new World Series, which they kicked off with a win in Dubai, has provided a welcome, immediate focus to quickly put Paris in the rear view, led by new captain Isabella Nasser.
“We look ahead into the future with a maturing team,” Nasser said.
“There’s quite a few debutants coming up, and the best is yet to come.”
Hoare is in a good headspace too, with September’s World Athletics Championships looming, as well as the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics in the longer term.
“I’ve been crushing a lot of core strength training, which is the stuff I missed out on the year before,” he said.
“It’s definitely given me a lot of confidence that I can get back to competing the way I want to compete, and not have the rush that I had in 2024, so now I feel very refreshed.
Hoare is confident of getting back to his best. (Getty Images: David Ramos)
“For the next four years I’m just in a really, really good spot, because I feel like I’ve dealt with the good and the bad of a lot of things.
“And a lot of people’s careers do that, and it’s just how you apply that learning or that knowledge that you’ve experienced.”
Hoare also hopes to be a resource for other athletes who may face similar social media abuse or mental health challenges.
“If I can be a role model to a kid and say mental health exists for high intensity athletes that have a lot on the line in a short period of time, a high stress environment, you’re going to get maybe some abuse on social media,” he said.
“And it’s more like a warning saying, ‘OK if this happened, this is how I know how to deal with it. This is how certain other athletes deal with it.'”
Openness has also been a core part of Smith’s success, encouraging others to reach out for help when needed.
Smith says using a sports psychologist throughout her career has been a game-changer. (AAP: Dave Hunt)
“To be able to juggle the demands of training and the demands of travelling overseas and competing at the highest level with also just being a happy and well-rounded human as well … without a sports psychologist who works well for you, or a performance coach or a mindset coach, I think it’s pretty difficult,” she said.
“I’m the biggest believer of reaching out for help, and it’s definitely no sign of weakness for me.
“It shows a lot of courage, and it’s just another part of high performance that if you’re missing that, I don’t think you’re going to get the best out of yourself.”
