MIDLAND, Texas — As Midland residents watched in real time, their own's Bryce Hoppel fell short by .17 seconds to medal in the 800-meter Olympic final.
But there is light in spite of not winning a medal — his garnered a new personal best and new U.S. record with his time of 1:41.67.
Kenya's Immanuel Wanyoni scored the gold, with a time of 1:41.19, Marco Arop, from Canada scored the silver with a time of 1:41.20 and Algeria's Djamel Sedjati garnered the bronze.
This is his second time on the world's stage as the Midland High School and the University of Kansas grad competed in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Hoppel, 26, qualified for his first-ever Olympic 800-meter final early Friday morning as he finished second in the third semifinal with a time of 1 minute, 43.41 seconds during the Paris Olympics at Stade de France.
Madison Peters, a Midland resident, called into NewsWest 9 shortly after the race and told the station, "We are still proud of him."
Another viewer, Trevor Rodriguez said he is still "Midland's hero."
When NewsWest 9 broke the story of Bryce's feat through its public Facebook page, more than 260 people reacted echoing the same comments received at the station — all within the hour after the race.
One viewer, Alicia Allen, said on the public post "I was so impressed, he should be so proud of his performance. US record, he is a winner in my books!"
Another viewer, Lisa Flores commented in the same post: "ABSOLUTELY!!!!!! To make it that far!!!!! WEST TEXAS IS VERY PROUD IF YOU BRYCE!!!!! And setting that record is awesome!!!!!!"
The Springboard Center, who sponsored Saturday's digital live show was also among the many comments:
