The Philippians Bible verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” could have been Bryce Hoppel’s mantra in his trajectory to the 2021 Summer Olympics. Hoppel, a member of St. Ann’s Catholic Church, was once an adolescent with a lofty goal: growing up to become an Olympian, the odds of which are approximately .00013 percent. But his strong faith is one of the reasons few, if any, in his inner circle are surprised that the 23-year-old qualified in June to compete in the 800-meter race at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
“Bryce knows God is playing a part in this and gave him the talents,” said Monty Hoppel, Bryce’s father. “He wears his cross (necklace) outside of his uniform. He’s running for God and knowing God gives him strength, and he knows he’s helping him accomplish all this.”
Bryce’s path to the Olympics wasn’t always clear cut. Raised in Midland, he and his sisters attended St. Ann’s School, where his mother taught, and attended St. Ann’s Catholic Church. The Hoppels have also always been a sports-centric family: Monty works for a minor league baseball team, and their three children played a variety of sports while growing up. But it was soccer, not running, that was Bryce’s first love.
“One summer in high school, they had us do cross country to stay in shape for soccer, and I found an incredible group of friends,” Bryce said during a telephone interview from Kansas, where he attends college and trains. “I fell in love with the team. … And it made me start loving the sport. I honestly didn’t love running at the time, but it was cool how I found that group and we went through the journey together, and I discovered I was good at [running]. I quit soccer and fully committed to track and field my junior year of high school.”
One day after a high school race, Bryce told his parents he was going to make the Olympics one day. “We said, ‘Okay, Bryce, sure. That’s a good goal to have,’” said Rita Hoppel with a laugh.
He made his goal known to his friends and church family, including Alison Pope, his former high school youth minister at St. Ann’s. “I know this has been a dream of his for a while, and he’s always been willing to put in that hard work,” Pope said. “Whether it came to his schoolwork or his running or his faith, he’s always been determined and driven.”
As Bryce excelled in running, his dream suddenly didn’t seem so farfetched. He broke Midland High School’s record as its first student to win a state championship in the 800-meter, then earned a scholarship in track and field to the University of Kansas. His sophomore year there, he achieved his first championship in the 800-meter run and competed in the NCAA Championships. His junior year, he won 21 consecutive races, as well as the NCAA Championships for both indoor and outdoor seasons. In 2019, he was part of the U.S. Championship team at the professional level and placed third, which allowed him to compete in Qatar for the World Championships, where he placed fourth. That same year, he gave up the NCAA and went pro.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and delayed the Olympic trials, he trained, traveled, and raced in Europe. “I went to Croatia and Qatar, and I hung out in Rome in between races so I got to see the Vatican,” Bryce said. “2020 was a training and reflective year.”
The first two rounds of the U.S. Olympic Trials were held June 18-19, with the final on June 21. Bryce placed in the top three, officially clinching his spot in this year’s Summer Olympics.
“Coming across the [finish] line, you have so many thoughts that it’s almost numbing,” he said. “I wanted to get to my family, I wanted to thank God. Everything was happening so quickly, I really couldn’t take it in. I feel like I’ve been riding that feeling ever since. It feels unreal. It’s so cool to get the opportunity and honor to represent not only the country but all the people who got me here.
“My favorite quote is, ‘To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.’ I feel like we’re all given abilities, but it’s what we do with them. That’s what my parents have taught me — to be thankful for those blessings.”
“I think we all feel like Bryce was given some talent, and he’s busting his rear end to make sure that it comes true and he takes advantage,” Monty added. “We all know that prayer and faith is the reason all this is happening, along with his hard work.”
Bryce agreed that he “absolutely” would not be where he is without his Christian foundation. “There would be no purpose without my faith,” he said. “Being brought up in that and having that, with my parents so involved in the church, I feel like having all that is what’s gotten me here today, and I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it without it.
“There are some days where the body clearly is not wanting to do anything. You’re going to be pushing your body to its limits, and you have to believe it’s going to be fine, even when you feel like you’re going to pass out or something is going to break. You gave to have faith that it’ll be okay.”
Bryce also credited his teammates, coach, and support system in Kansas for his accomplishments thus far. “I think a lot of the time, especially when you get to those big races, it’s like, ‘Do I deserve to be here?’ I train with the Kansas University team here, and we do a lot of the same stuff, and I’m like, ‘What am I doing differently?’ That’s something I don’t always open up about, because I don’t know why I’m the one [headed to the Olympics], when we’re all doing the same workouts. I am thankful.”
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Becca Nelson Sankey is a freelance writer, editor, and photographer in San Angelo.