American middle-distance runner Josh Hoey has achieved a new record. The reigning world indoor champion in the men’s 800m breached the men’s 600m world indoor record at the 2025 BU Season Opener.
Hoey is a 26-year-old middle-distance runner who specializes in the 800m event. He had missed out on the 2024 Paris Olympics by a whisker at the US Olympic trials.
Josh Hoey Achieves a New World Record in Men’s 600m Indoors
Hoey participated in the BU Opener Meet held yesterday, i.e., December 6. He won the men’s 600m event with a time of 1:12.84, breaking the previous record of 1:13.77 set by Donavan Brazier. Interestingly, this record is just three hundredths of a second short of the outdoor mark of 1:12.81 seconds, which was set by Johnny Gray, a former Olympic medalist in the men’s 800m [outdoors].
JOSH HOEY SETS NEW 600M WORLD RECORD! ⚡🏃♂️
He clocks 1:12.84 at the #BUOpener! 😱😭🥹
The man is pure magic! ✨💥 pic.twitter.com/ah72rQQ34H
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) December 6, 2025
Hoey had previously set an outdoor personal best of 1:42.43 at the Stockholm Diamond League held in June 2025. The American stood third overall with this performance, behind Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya and Djamel Sedjati of Algeria.
Hoey’s Background, Early Childhood, and Achievements in the 2025 Season
Hoey comes from a family of runners. The middle-distance runner was born on November 1, 1999, in Pennsylvania. Hoey attended Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
Hoey initially aimed to represent the University of Oregon in collegiate sports. However, he signed up with Adidas after high school. In 2018, the middle-distance runner qualified for the semifinals of the boys’ 800m event at the World U18 Championships held in Tampere, Finland.
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After a mixed outing in the previous year, Hoey turned over a new leaf in the current season. The middle-distance runner began the 2025 season on a decent note by winning the 1500-meter short track event at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. Hoey clocked a time of 3:33.66 overall.
Hoey marked his presence at the World Indoor Championships. The middle-distance runner won the first major title of his career as he clocked 1:44.77 to win the gold medal in the men’s 800m.
Hoey wasn’t done yet. He clocked 1:42.82 to win the gold medal at the Lausanne leg of the Wanda Diamond League. However, Hoey couldn’t repeat the same at the finals held in Zurich. The middle-distance runner finished in a disappointing eighth position, with a time of 1:44.25.
Hoey made up for the loss with his recent world-record-breaking performance at the BU Season Opener. The middle-distance runner is aiming to make it big at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.