Paris Olympics: American Cole Hocker races to stunning win in 1,500m

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PARIS — Last summer, at the World Championships in Budapest, American middle-distance runner Cole Hocker admits he ran "soft."

The blazing early pace of the men's 1,500-meters final made Hocker uncomfortable and he was unable to stick with the leaders. He finished a distant seventh after falling too far back in the pack for his signature devastating finishing kick to matter.

That race was on Hocker's mind as he prepared for Tuesday night's Olympic men's 1,500. He reminded himself, "Don't be soft. You've got to go with it. You're going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don't."

Those words ringing in his ears, Hocker stayed near the front as the race started briskly and then Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway ratcheted up the pace even further. Then the American national champion made the rest of the field pay for not shaking him earlier, unleashing one of his trademark last-lap kicks to pull a stunning upset.

Hocker raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line in 3:27.65, an Olympic record time and nearly three full seconds faster than his personal best in the event. He bypassed five other men in the race's final 200 meters, including Ingebrigtsen and reigning world champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain, the overwhelming pre-race favorites in this event.

Kerr matched Hocker stride for stride until the race's final steps and hung on for second place, just 14 hundredths of a second behind the American. Another American, Yared Nuguse, delivered a kick of his own and blew past a fading Ingebrigtsen to claim bronze in 3:27.80.

"It felt like another race in terms of kicking by people," Hocker said. "I've done it countless times before during my career. This time it happened to be against the Olympic champion and the world champion."

The men's 1,500 final was considered one of the glamor races of the Paris Olympics because of the long-simmering feud between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr. The two bitter rivals have traded jabs and insults through the media while also claiming the past three global championships and separating themselves as the fastest men in the world over 1,500 meters.

All the attention going to Ingebrigtsen and Kerr fed the mistaken narrative that this was a two-man race. That didn't bother either Hocker or Nuguse, both of whom said they were happy to fly under the radar.

"It's been nice for me," Hocker said. "They've had all the added pressure and added noise."

Those who were paying attention to how well Hocker ran at U.S. Trials might not have been so quick to discount him. He ran a similar race to what he did Tuesday night, kicking with 200-plus meters to go and leaving even Nuguse behind.

"When he beat me, I was like, damn, Cole's like really good right now," Nuguse said with a laugh. "Because I was like, I'm feeling really good and he was able to beat me. So I know that he must be in crazy good shape right now. And I know that he's learned a lot about making sure that he's in the right place that he needs to be in races."

On Tuesday, Hocker stayed near the front when Ingebrigtsen surged with two laps to go in an apparent attempt to neutralize Kerr's finishing kick. The strategy didn't pay off. It weakened Kerr and left Ingebrigtsen without the energy he needed to keep pace over the final 100 meters of the race.

The man who benefited most was Hocker. Unable to find a path past Ingebrigtsen the first time, he kicked again and snuck through on the inside.

Now he's a gold medalist, the USA's second in the past three Olympics in the men's 1,500-meter.

Said Hocker, "With 100 meters to go, I knew I had enough."