Josh Hoey is once again in the news, and for all the right reasons. The 600m world record holder has now established a new world record in the men’s 800m indoor at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, recently held in Boston.
Hoey had previously represented the United States in multiple indoor events. He also won a gold medal at the 2025 Indoor World Championships held in Nanjing, China.
Meet Josh Hoey, the Runner Who Shattered a 29-Year Indoor Record at the New Balance Grand Prix
Hoey recently competed in the men’s 800m event at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. The other athletes were no match for the 26-year-old middle-distance runner, as he won the race with a time of 1:42.50.
The previous world record had stood for nearly three decades and was held by Danish runner Wilson Kipketer. Kipketer clocked 1:42.67 at an athletics meet in 1997.
Interestingly, Hoey’s brother, Jackson Hoey, also participated in the race and helped push Josh to go out aggressively with an early lead over the first 500 meters. Ironically, Jackson Hoey pulled out of the race after 500 meters and was unable to finish.
Josh Hoey’s Childhood And Early Achievements
Josh Hoey was born on Nov. 1, 1999, in Pennsylvania. The middle-distance runner completed his primary education at Bishop Shanahan High School before deciding to turn professional. Initially, he considered attending the University of Oregon, but he eventually chose to follow the path of athletes such as Drew Hunter and Hobbs Kessler, who also turned professional directly after high school.
Hoey represented Team USA for the first time in track and field at the 2018 U20 World Championships held in Tampere, Finland. He narrowly missed qualifying for the finals, finishing fourth in the semifinals.
Hoey also narrowly missed the Olympics after finishing fourth at the 2024 U.S. trials. However, he rebounded in 2025 by winning the gold medal in the men’s 800m at the World Indoor Championships. The 26-year-old also set a personal best of 1:42.01 when he finished second at the Monaco meet of the 2025 Wanda Diamond League. The American national record is held by Bryce Hoppel, who clocked 1:41.67 in the 800m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hoey won the 800m event at the Lausanne leg of the Diamond League, although he could not replicate that performance at the Diamond League finals in Zurich, where he finished last.
