23-year-old American Cole Hocker won his first Olympic medal, shocking a stacked men’s 1500m field to win gold in Paris.
Hocker was in fifth place entering the bell lap. But he took the inside lane and blazed down the home stretch to sprint by Tokyo Olympic champion and presumptive favorite Jakob Ingebrigsten, reigning world champion Josh Kerr and U.S. teammate Yared Nuguse to claim the Olympic title. With a time of 3:27.65, Hocker set an Olympic record in the process.
“That’s an unbelievable feeling," Hocker said. "I just felt like I was getting carried by the stadium and God.
My body just kind of did it for me. My mind was all there and I saw that finish line.
Kerr took silver, his second Olympic medal. Nuguse, running in his first Olympic Games, claimed bronze. Nuguse’s time of 3:27.80 was just one hundredth of a second behind the silver medal. This final marks the first time in 112 years that two Americans have landed on the Olympic podium in the men’s 1500m.
In 2016, Matthew Centrowitz snapped a 108-year American drought in the event. Now, U.S. reigns supreme in the men's 1500m for the second time in just eight years.
A long and trash talk-fueled rivalry between Ingebrigsten and Kerr served as the main draw for many in this event, with Ingebrigsten aiming to defend his title. But instead, it’s Hocker headlining it on the other side of the finish.
“I kind of told myself that I’m in this race too," Hocker said. "If they let me fly under the radar, then so be it. I think that might’ve just been the best.”
It was. In the end, none of the trash talk between the Brit and the Norwegian mattered. Ingebrigsten led for 90% of the race but faded in the home stretch to finish fourth and stunningly fell off the podium.
So, Hocker is now an Olympic champion. The Indianapolis native was ahead of his counterparts from an early age, recording a 4-minute, 36-second mile in eighth grade. He won an Indiana state title in high school, an NCAA Championship as an Oregon Duck, qualified for his first Olympics in 2021 and now tops a medal podium for the first time.
“Winning gold was my goal this entire year," Hocker said. "I wrote that down, and I repeated it to myself even if I didn’t believe it.
I knew I was a medal contender, and I knew that if I get it right, it would be a gold medal.