American distance runner Cole Hocker won the gold medal in the 1500-meter event at Stade de France in the Paris Olympics on Tuesday thanks to a great finish.
Hocker entered the final straight away behind Great Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. However, the 23-year-old American runner from Indianapolis closed strong. He sprinted ahead of Kerr and a fading Ingebrigsten to finish first while also setting an Olympic record with a time of 3:27.65.
WOW. 😱
A STUNNING upset in the men’s 1500m as AMERICAN COLE HOCKER takes gold! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/wlq81lbvSO
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2024
Hocker’s time beat Ingebrigsten’s previous Olympic record time of 3:28.32 set at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Hocker had finished 6th at the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 3:31.40. His training paid off in a big way as he shaved nearly four seconds off his score in the span of three years. Hocker’s time on Tuesday was nearly three seconds better than his time that helped him win the US Olympic Trials in June.
