Former Kansas Jayhawk Bryce Hoppel clinches spot in Paris Olympics

A former Kansas Jayhawks standout will reunite with his college coach at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

Bryce Hoppel, who won a pair of national championships for Kansas track and field, clinched a spot on Team USA by winning the 800-meter final at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon this weekend. Not only that, but he set the trials record in the win, finishing the race in 1:42.77. The previous record was set 32 years ago at the 1992 trials.

It’s also the fastest time of his career and it’s the third-fastest time in American history for the 800m.

https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1807566679297159232

The top three finishers all qualified for the Olympics. Joining Hoppel on Team USA in Paris will be Hobbs Kessler and Brandon Miller.

Hoppel, who also won four Big 12 individual championships and once had a 21-race unbeaten streak while at Kansas, is headed to his first Olympic Games. He has competed in the 800m internationally before, however, winning a gold medal at this year’s indoor world championships in Glasgow, Scotland and earning the bronze medal at the same event in Belgrade, Serbia in 2022.

The Paris Games will feature a Jayhawks reunion. KU track and field coach Stanley Redwine is the head coach for Team USA this year, reuniting the five-time Big 12 coach of the year with one of his most accomplished athletes.

Sunday was the final day of the track and field trials and the U.S. Olympic roster is now set. The games begin later this month, with the opening ceremony set for July 26. It will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Paris and at 12:30 p.m. in the central time zone. This will be the third Summer Olympics held in Paris, the first since 1924, and it will be France’s sixth Olympic Games overall.

For more coverage of the Kansas Jayhawks and the Paris Olympics, check out 580 Sports Talk weekday afternoons from 2-6 on 580 WIBW.