Hooper's victory in the 1982 World Championship came at the expense of defending World Champion Jody Scheckter, and American Footballers James Lofton, Cris Collinsworth and Mark Gastineau. Hooper later stated that he felt pressured by the aggressive nature of the US challengers, which came to a head in the final of the bike race, where he found himself boxed in by several rivals all seemingly working in concert to hold him back. Charging through powerfully and fairly, Hooper finished comfortably in the lead, but was then faced with official protests, claiming he either took a short-cut off the track or otherwise acted illegally. He clearly had not, and was quickly declared the legitimate winner. Victories in the rowing and second place in the gym test and swimming saw him win by just 3/4 of a point from talented runner Lofton. He was however 10 3/4 points clear entering the final event (and thus guaranteed to win the title) and coasted through his obstacle course heat. As only the two fastest heat winners ran in the final, Hooper could not add to his tally. Lofton on the other hand had $10000 to fight for, and bested Renaldo Nehemiah in the final event, and duly took second place, something again he was virtually guaranteed before the event.