- Noah Lyles’ Mom Sends Encouragement to Aussie Ollie Hoare
- Hoare became the target of online trolls via social media
- Lyles’ mother told the runner not to let the critics steal his joy
Middle-distance runner Ollie Hoare has received a heartwarming message from the mother of Noah Lyles, who won gold in the 100m sprint in Paris. The Australian revealed that he had been the target of social media trolls.
Hoare, 27, failed to reach the semi-finals of the 1500m after finishing a disappointing third last in his heat and was also eliminated in the repechage round, dashing his Olympic dream.
However, Hoare said in a candid interview that the disgraceful 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.’
Ollie Hoare (pictured) has received an encouraging message from the mother of 100m sprint champion Noah Lyles
Keisha Caine Bishop (pictured embracing her son Noah after he won the gold medal in the 100-meter sprint) told Hoare not to let critics steal his joy
The Sydney-born runner said his partner was also attacked by nasty internet trolls.
“If I have a bad race or something goes wrong, it can happen and I have to give the whole thing a hard time,” 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.”
Keisha Caine Bishop, mother of sprint champion Noah Lyles, posted a heartfelt message to the Australian in response to his post.
“As the mother of Noah Lyles, I completely understand how you feel,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Those people who say mean things are not happy people by themselves. Don’t let them steal your joy.
Commonwealth Games gold medalist says he’s retiring from Instagram
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“You are valuable, you are worthy, and I support you. Remember the quote from a famous poem, ‘it is not the critic who counts.'”
Hoare has announced he will be taking a step back from Instagram until the end of the athletics season, amid overwhelming support from fans and fellow athletes.
David Pocock, an independent federal senator and former Wallabies rugby star, responded to Hoare’s post by posting the full quote from a famous speech by Theodore Roosevelt that Lyles’ mother referred to.
The late American president is famous for his speech, “The Man in the Arena,” which he delivered in Paris in 1910.
Roosevelt said: ‘It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The honor belongs to the man who actually stands in the arena.’