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Cole Hocker of the United States delivered the biggest surprise on the track yet at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the men’s 1,500 meters.
Hocker upset Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Great Britain’s Josh Kerr with a tremendous push in the final 100 meters to win the gold and set a new Olympic record.
NBC Olympics & Paralympics @NBCOlympics
WOW. 😱
A STUNNING upset in the men’s 1500m as AMERICAN COLE HOCKER takes gold! #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/wlq81lbvSO
Ingebrigtsen, the Tokyo gold medalist, took the race out in a lightning-fast pace, but he faded into fourth place as things picked up down the final stretch.
Yared Nuguse of the United States sprinted past Ingebrigtsen toward the end to take bronze and give Team USA two medals in the 1,500 meters for the first time in over 100 years.
Results
1. Cole Hocker (United States) – 3:27.65 (Olympic record)
2. Josh Kerr (Great Britain) – 3:27.79
3. Yared Nuguse (United States) – 3:27.80
4. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) – 3:28.24
5. Hobbs Kessler (United States) – 3:29.45
6. Niels Laros (Netherlands) – 3:29.54
7. Narve Gilje Nordas (Norway) – 3:30.46
8. Pietro Arese (Italy) – 3:30.74
Hocker pulled off an incredible final 100 meters of the race to upset the reigning world and Olympic champions in the 1,500 meters.
Ingebrigtsen started the race off in the front at a world-record pace. The Tokyo gold medalist appeared to have shattered the field throughout the first few laps.
Everything changed when the race hit the final turn. Hocker, who had moved up earlier in the lap, made a move down the inside to pass Ingebrigtsen and Kerr.
The American’s initial move was blocked by the Norwegian, but he persevered to make another move down the inside that succeeded.
Ingebrigtsen’s legs burnt out amid the chaos of the final 100 meters. He fell back out of the medal positions in the stunning finish.
Kerr, who has dueled with Ingebrigtsen verbally and on the track leading up to Paris, earned the best finish of the favorites in second place.
One medal in the 1,500 meters would have been impressive enough for Team USA, but Nuguse made it an even better night with his bronze-medal finish.
The one-three finish marked the first time in 112 years in which Team USA placed two males on the medal stand in the 1,500 meters.
