‘Farken’ and ‘Hoare’: Runner whose Olympic singlet goes missing online, reveals disturbing development after viral photo
- Ollie Hoare has closed his social media accounts
- Australian runner attacked after his 1500m heats
- He says he struggles with trust issues
Australian track and field star Olli Hoare has spoken candidly about the attention the Paris Olympics have brought to him, including being insulted by his performance in the preliminary round and accidentally becoming the star of a viral photo.
The 27-year-old Hoare failed to reach the semi-finals of the 1500 metres, finishing a disappointing third last in his heat and being eliminated in the repechage round, putting his Olympic dream in jeopardy.
Hoare set the internet alight when he ran alongside German track and field star Robert Farekn during the first lap of the 1500 metres.
Supporters of the Games celebrated on social media when they saw Farken alongside Hoare on the purple track in Paris.
‘I can hear HG and ROY shouting this race in my head already, it’s Farken, it’s Hoare, it’s Farken, it’s Hoare, Farken Hoare, Farken Hoare, it’s a neck and neck race,’ wrote one.
“Nick Giannopolous would love it if Hoare starred in Farken,” wrote another, referring to his hit film The Wog Boy.
“The Olympics are just ridiculous now,” added another.
Olli Hoare’s singlet – along with that of competitor Robert Farken – set the internet alight earlier during the Games
Hoare revealed last night that he has deleted his social media accounts after his Instagram became ‘really bad’ following the heatwave
However, in a candid interview, Hoare said the negative messages he received before the repechage round had a major impact on his pre-race state of mind.
“My Instagram has really gone downhill since that heat,” said the Commonwealth Games gold medalist.
‘It was a terrible race and I got insulted on Instagram so I had to delete the post.
‘I probably should have deleted Instagram before I went to the village, but I miss my friends. It’s an easy way to communicate when you’re not living at home.
‘So that was tough. I think that affected me a little bit, I didn’t sleep that well.’
The Sydney-born runner said his partner was also attacked by nasty trolls.
“If I have a bad race or something goes wrong, it can happen and I just have to tell him to fuck off,” he said.
“They don’t know I couldn’t walk in November, they don’t know what a lot of athletes go through and sometimes it’s their day, sometimes it’s not.”
Hoare said he was struggling with trust issues when he left for France.
‘I just don’t have confidence, I’ve run 3:31 twice (in 2024), won a Diamond League, I still don’t have confidence. I don’t know what’s going on.’
Gold medalists Daoyi Long of China and Zongyuan Wang of China went viral for the unfortunate combination of their last names, but they had the last laugh
The divers’ names caused a stir on social media, with many people giggling at the combination
The Hoare-Farken partnership was not the only instance of athletes being paired together at the Olympics with unfortunate consequences.
Two Chinese divers went viral because they were a duo with the surnames Long and Wang.
Ironically, they were the ones who had the last laugh, winning gold in the men’s 3m springboard.
And incredibly, during the swim, Canadian star Mary-Sophie Harvey sat in a lane next to American Claire Weinstein.
Notorious American film producer Harvey Weinstein is a convicted sex offender whose misconduct has only come to light after decades of playing a major role in Hollywood.
Canadian swimming enthusiast Emma Sachs spoke for many when she wrote on Twitter: “Maybe you shouldn’t have put the US and Canada side by side here.”
