American middle-distance runner (born 2001)
Cole Hocker (born June 6, 2001) is an American middle- and long-distance runner who specializes in the 1500 meters. He won the gold medal in the event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, setting an Olympic record and an area record of 3:27.65. 
Hocker holds multiple national titles in annual competitions organized by USA Track &amp; Field, including four titles in the 1500 m and one title in the 3000 meters. In March 2024, he won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Hocker also placed sixth in the 1500 m at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and seventh at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 
In high school, Hocker won several high-level competitions including the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2018. Beginning in 2019, he competed for the University of Oregon, where he won four NCAA titles. Hocker announced in 2021 that he would forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility to run professionally, signing with Nike.
In September 2024, it was announced that Hocker signed with Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track league for the 2025 season, in the short distance (800 m/1500 m) category.
Background and youth sports.
Hocker grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and began running competitively at a young age, recording a time of 4:36 for the mile as an eighth grader. He attended Cathedral High School, where he won multiple state- and national-level races. He was second in the 2017 IHSAA Cross Country State Finals and won in '18. He finished second at the 2018 Nike Cross Nationals, and he won the 2018 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. For college, he chose the University of Oregon over offers from many other schools including Northern Arizona University and Indiana University.
Collegiate competition.
Hocker ran for the Oregon Ducks from 2019 to 2021. At the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, he won the mile in 3:53.71 and the 3000 meters in 7:46.15. Earlier that year, he ran a personal best of 3:50.55 in the mile on February 12, 2021, finishing in a close second to teammate Cooper Teare at a meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The two set the seventh and eighth all-time fastest performances for the indoor mile.
At the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Hocker won the 1500 meters in a time of 3:35.35, outkicking NCAA record holder Yared Nuguse. He also finished 4th in the 5000 meters in a time of 13:18.95. At the 2020 United States Olympic Trials, Hocker won the 1500 m final ahead of Matthew Centrowitz and Yared Nuguse. Hocker did not have the Olympic qualifying time; however, he qualified for the Games based on his world ranking position.
At the 2020 Olympic Games, Hocker placed 6th in the 1500 m with a time of 3:31.40, setting a new personal best. His time was under the Olympic Record set 2 days prior in the semifinals by Abel Kipsang of Kenya. Hocker qualified for the semifinals by running 3:36.16 for 4th in his heat. He then ran 3:33.87, then a personal best placing 2nd in his semifinal to qualify for the final.
Senior competition.
2021.
On September 13, 2021, Hocker announced his decision to turn professional, forgoing his further participation on the University of Oregon team. Hocker became a Nike-sponsored athlete, and continues to be based in Oregon training under coach Ben Thomas. Hocker made his professional debut at the 2022 Millrose Games, where he competed in the 3,000 meter race. He ran a personal record of 7:39.83, placing third behind Geordie Beamish and teammate Cooper Teare. Two weeks later at Gately Park in Chicago, in a bid for the American indoor mile record of 3:49.98, Teare and Hocker ran personal bests of 3:50.17 and 3:50.35 to place first and second.
2022.
At the 2022 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Spokane, Washington, Hocker doubled in the 1,500 meter and 3,000 meter events. He earned his second and third national titles, running a meet record time of 3:39.09 in the 1500m. However, he opted not to compete in the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, turning his focus instead to the outdoor championships in July. An injury at the US National Track and Field championships in June 2022, prevented him from qualifying in the 1500 m for the World Outdoor Championships.
2023.
Hocker finished third at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, qualifying him for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. He placed 7th at the world championship final, en route to a new personal best of 3:30.7. In September 2023, Hocker competed in the mile of the Diamond League final at the Prefontaine Classic. He did not have enough Diamond League points to qualify, but the meet organizers entered him as a national wildcard, based on a rule which allows the host nation to enter an athlete who is of adequate standing in each event. In the race, Hocker finished sixth in a personal best of 3:48.08, the fourth fastest time ever run by an American in the mile.
2024: Olympic 1500 Meter Champion.
In February, Hocker ran 8:05.70 in the indoor 2-mile at the Millrose Games in New York City. He finished third behind compatriot Grant Fisher, who broke the American record in the event, and Scotsman Josh Kerr, who broke the world record. Hocker's time was also under the previous American record of 8:07.41 held by Galen Rupp. In the same month, Hocker won a national title in the 1500 m at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, setting a meeting record in 3:37.51. In March, he won a silver medal for the United States in the 1500 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, his first finish on the podium at a global competition. In May, Hocker achieved the Olympic qualifying standard in the 5000 m by running a personal best of 12:58.82 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. 
In the final of the 1500 m at the 2024 Olympic Trials, Hocker took the lead from Yared Nuguse in the final 250 meters to win in a meet record and personal best of 3:30.59. In doing so, the 23-year-old qualified for his second Olympic Games. At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, on August 6, Hocker won the 1500 meter gold medal with a new Olympic record and North American area record of 3:27.65, almost 3 seconds better than his previous personal best, overcoming the favorites Josh Kerr, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and Yared Nuguse. Hocker's time places him as the seventh fastest 1500 meter runner in history. The race was highly anticipated given Ingebrigtsen's rivalry with Kerr, with World Athletics President and former middle distance runner Sebastian Coe labeling it a "race for the ages". Ingebrigtsen led at a fast pace for most of the race but was passed by Kerr in the final straightaway. Ingebrigtsen ended up moving outwards, giving Hocker, who is famous for his finishing kick, an opening on the inside to pass Ingebrigtsen and Kerr to win gold. Hocker's victory gave the United States their first gold medal in the event since 2016, when Matthew Centrowitz Jr. won at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was the first time since 1912 that two Americans finished on the podium, with Nuguse securing the bronze medal.
At the 2024 Lausanne Diamond League on August 22, Hocker finished second in the 1500 metres to Jakob Ingebrigtsen, in a time of 3:29.85 while Ingebrigtsen finished in a new meeting record of 3:27.83. At the 2024 Weltklasse Zurich meeting on September 5, Hocker finished third in the 1500 metres, in a time of 3:30.46.
References.
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