PARIS, France — Cole Hocker, a former University of Oregon runner, won a gold medal in the men's 1,500-meter final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday. His time of 3:27.65 set a new Olympic record.
During the final 300 meters of the race, Hocker pulled from fifth to first to beat his personal best by more than three seconds.
He outraced favorites Jakob Ingebrigsten and Josh Kerr, beating the latter by 0.14 seconds. Kerr, who is representing Great Britain, took home the silver medal with a time of 3:27.79. Yared Nuguse, who is on Team USA, earned bronze. Ingebrigsten, the defending champion representing Norway, ended up in fourth.
This is the first time the United States put two men on the 1,500-meter podium since the Stockholm Games in 1912. Hocker's win is the first one for the United State in the metric mile since fellow former Oregon Duck Matt Centrowitz earned gold in 2016.
In the semifinal, Hocker placed 10th with a time of 3:32.54. He clocked a personal best of 3:30.59 during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, winning by 0.27 seconds.
KGW spoke to Hocker ahead of the Paris Olympics.
"The goal is definitely a medal, but I'm not going to limit myself to top three. I'm going to go for gold for sure," Hocker told KGW at the time.
This year marks Hocker's second time competing on the Olympic stage. He placed sixth at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The 23-year-old suffered Achilles injuries in both legs in 2023, causing him to miss more than six months of training and start the season late.
He is currently ranked eighth in the world in the 1,500-meter race.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
