PARIS: United States Cole Hocker broke the Olympic record in the men’s 1500m event to take away the gold medal in front of a jam-packed crowd at Stade de France.
Hocker defeated the on-paper favourites for the event, Josh Kerr of Great Britain and Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway. The 23-year-old finished at the top to get an opportunity to pose with the gold medal around his neck.
Hocker clocked 3:27.65s to set a new Olympic record, bettering the timing of Ingebrigtsen’s 3:28.32s, which was set in the Tokyo Olympics.
Great Britain’s Josh Kerr broke the national record with a timing of 3:27.79s. However, his efforts were proved insufficient to end up with the gold medal.
It was a double podium finish for the US, with Yared Nuguse taking away the bronze medal with a personal best effort of 3:27.80s. This marked the first time the US had two athletes at the podium in the 1500m event at the Summer Games.
Ingebrigtsen, who was the reigning Olympic champion, faded in the final part of the race and ended up without a medal following a fourth-place finish with a timing of 3:28.24s.
It was a thrilling race, with the crowd at Stade de France roaring from the moment the gun went off. Ingebrigsten was in front while Hocker, Kerr and Nuguse stayed a whisker away from him. As the race progressed, Hocker saw the opening, moved ahead and maintained it before crossing the finishing line.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. 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,” Hocker said after the race, as quoted from Olympics.com.
“Winning gold was my goal this entire year. I wrote that down, and I repeated it to myself even if I didn’t believe it,” he added. (ANI)