American Cole Hocker pulls off Olympic surprise in men’s 1500m

SAINT-DENIS, France (AP) — The race was billed as a barroom brawl between the world’s two fiercest 1,500-meter runners.

No one would have imagined that this little-known American would surprise the two men, steal the show and win the Olympic gold medal with them.

Cole Hocker gave the track a boost Tuesday night, first catching — and then passing — fierce rivals Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to spring a surprise at the Games with an unexpected victory in a high-profile showdown that wasn’t supposed to involve him.

Hocker improved his personal best by nearly 3 seconds to win with an Olympic time of 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds.

“If you followed my season, you knew I was capable of it,” Hocker said. “But still, things had to go my way today.”

Taking advantage of a blistering early pace set by Ingebrigtsen, the 23-year-old from the University of Oregon moved from fifth to third and then first over the final 300 metres to overtake the exhausted favourites.

It was a chance for the reigning Olympic champion (Ingebrigtsen) and the reigning world champion (Kerr) to end a feud that had been brewing for more than a year. Kerr said the race would be “one of the fiercest, toughest 1500 metres the sport has seen in a very long time.”

Instead, the guy who took home the $50,000 check was a prospect who was considered a 30-to-1 underdog. Kerr finished second by 0.14 seconds. Another American, Yared Nuguse, finished third and Ingebrigtsen slipped to fourth.

“It was a deafening noise. I’d never heard that in a stadium before,” Hocker said of the 80,000 fans screaming at the Stade de France. “I lost the feeling in my body and it didn’t feel like I was at the Olympics until that happened.”

About an hour after that upset, the American pulled off the victory most people saw coming, when Gabby Thomas powered through the bend to win the 200-meter title in 21.83 seconds.

His 0.25 second lead over 100 champion Julien Alfred was 0.11 seconds better than Hocker’s, even though Thomas ran half a lap and Hocker nearly four.

Hocker, who ran a personal best time of 3:30.59 at the Olympic trials this summer, is just the second American to win the metric mile at the Olympics in the last 112 years. Matt Centrowitz won gold in 2016.

All eyes were on Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Norwegian champion who came with a point to prove, and Kerr, the Scot who had beaten him at last year’s world championships.

Kerr and Ingebrigtsen have since teased each other. Among the lingering rants is Kerr’s claim that Ingebrigtsen only wins races with pacemakers, which is not allowed at major events like the Olympics.

Against this backdrop, Ingebrigtsen quickly moved to the front and ran there for the first 3 1/2 laps, while Kerr traded between second and third, preparing for his typical run-up and a possible slingshot past the Norwegian down the final stretch, much as he did last year.

“It was obviously a tactical mistake not to be able to reduce my pace in the first 800 metres,” Ingebrigtsen said.

As he and Kerr wore each other down, Hocker, his long hair pulled back in a bun and standing at 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 meters) tall, more than 3 inches (8.5 centimeters) shorter than the top two contenders, almost seemed to want to photograph them at the end of the race.

As they entered the final stretch, Hocker slipped inside once, but Ingebrigtsen blocked that move.

Hocker then backed off and attempted another attempt about 50 metres from the finish.

He and Kerr, who was running on the outside, passed Ingebrigtsen, then Hocker – back arched, chest out and arms flailing faster than anyone – beat the Scot to the finish line and raised his hands as he crossed.

“I pulled myself together and attacked again. It’s just incredible,” Hocker said.

A few steps past the line, Hocker thumped his chest twice, a small celebration in the spotlight for a guy whose consistent success has been overshadowed by all the hype.

“They’ve had all this extra pressure and all this noise,” Hocker said. “I think that’s part of the problem. This job is to silence that noise and it gets harder and harder the better you get.”

Kerr called Hocker’s performance “the best the Olympics have ever seen.”

“It’s enough for me for the money today and it will make me hungry for next time,” Kerr said.

Let the record show that Kerr did indeed beat Ingebrigtsen in this race, bringing his all-time record against his rival to 3-13 over the distance.

But for more than a year now, it has been clear that neither is running for second place.

The next meeting in another of athletics’ greatest rivalries – that between Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol – will take place in the Olympic final.

The two best in the 400m hurdles easily won their semi-final.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who hit a hurdle on her first lap, went around the track without a hitch this time and finished in 52.13 seconds. Bol completed the lap in 52.57 seconds.

The two men have only met twice. McLaughlin set world records in both races, with Bol finishing third at the last Olympics and second at the 2022 world championships.

“Iron sharpens iron,” McLaughlin said. “It’s always fun to race against the best and I know we’re going to push each other.”

Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic champion, posted the fastest time in the men’s 400m semifinals, winning his heat in 43.78.

The two fastest riders this year, American Quincy Hall and Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith, won their semi-finals and will be joined by American Michael Norman to make for one of the most open finals ever.

Defending champion Steven Gardiner, struggling with injuries this year, withdrew before the first round.

Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou won his second straight gold medal in a men’s long jump final that missed an American for only the second time in a non-boycotted Games since the Summer Olympics began in 1896.

Canada’s Camryn Rogers added an Olympic gold medal in the hammer throw to her world championship win last year. American Annette Echikunwoke won silver.