'Farken' and 'Hoare': Runner whose Olympics singlet let up in the internet reveals disturbing development after viral photo
- Aussie runner was targeted after his 1500m heats
- Was at the centre of 'Farken' and 'Hoare' viral photo
- He says he has been battling confidence issues
Aussie track star Olli Hoare has opened up about the impact the Paris Olympics spotlight has had on him - as he cops a barrage of vile abuse for his performance in his heat at the same time he accidentally became the subject of a viral photo.
Hoare, 27, failed to reach the semi-finals if the 1500m after finishing a disappointing third-last in his heat, before crashing out in the repechage round, resulting in his Olympics dream coming to an end.
Hoare set the internet alight when he ran next to track star Robert Farekn from Germany during the first round of the 1500m.
Games supporters had a field day on social media when they noticed Farken next to Hoare on the purple track together in Paris.
'I can hear HG and ROY calling this race in my head right now, it Farken it's Hoare, it's Farken it's Hoare, Farken Hoare, Farken Hoare it's a dead heat,' one posted.
'Nick Giannopolous would love Hoare to be leading Farken,' another posted, referencing his hit movie The Wog Boy.
'The Olympics are just taking the p** now,' added another.
Olli Hoare's singlet - coupled with that of competitor Robert Farken - set the internet alight during his 1500m heat. Hoare placed third-last and was disappointed with his performance
Hoare revealed overnight that he has deleted his social media accounts after his Instagram got 'really bad' after the heat. He was flooded with abuse, he said
However in a candid interview, Hoare said that negative messages received before the repechage round had a huge impact on his mindset heading into the race.
'My Instagram has been really bad after that (the heat),' the Commonwealth Games gold medallist said.
'It was a terrible race and I've been abused on Instagram so I had to delete it.
'I probably should have deleted Instagram before I went into the village but I miss my friends. It's an easy way of communication when you're not living at home.
'So that was tough. I think that kind of affected me a little bit, I haven't slept great.'
The Sydney-born runner said that vile trolls also targeted his partner.
'If I have a bad race or if something goes wrong there could be a possibility of that happening and I have to just tell it to p*** off,' he said.
'They don't know that 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 isn't.'
Hoare said he was beset by confidence issues heading to France.
'I just don't feel confident, I've ran two 3:31s (in 2024), won a Diamond League, I still have no confidence. I don't know what's going on.'
Gold medallists Daoyi Long of China and Zongyuan Wang of China also went viral because of the unfortunate pairing of their surnames, but they had the last laugh
The divers' names caused a social media stir with plenty giggling at the combination. The pair had the last laugh, winning gold
Hoare and Farken's coming together was not the only case of athletes being paired together at the Olympics with unfortunate results.
Two Chinese divers went viral because they had the surnames Long and Wang when competing as a pair.
Ironically, they had the last laugh, winning gold in the Men's Synchronised 3m Springboard event.
And incredibly, during the swimming Canadian star Mary-Sophie Harvey was paired in a lane next to America's Claire Weinstein.
Infamous American film producer Harvey Weinstein is a convicted sex offender, with his sordid conduct coming to light after decades as a major figure in Hollywood.
Canadian swimming fan Emma Sachs spoke for many when she tweeted: 'maybe shouldn't have put USA and Canada next to each other here.'
