Americans Win Two Medals in Men’s 1500 meters for the First Time Since 1912

In the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, U.S runners Abel Kiviat and Norman Taber won silver and bronze medals in the Men’s 1500 meters. Since then, while the U.S. has won the occasional medal in the event (most recently when Matthew Centrowitz Jr. won Gold in 2016), Americans have not won more than one medal in the same Olympics. That is, until this year in Paris. Cole Hocker put on a burst of speed in the final 300 yards and went from fifth place to first to win the gold in an Olympic record 3:27.65. Josh Kerr of Great Britain, the current world champion, finished second and Yared Nuguse of the United States took the bronze. Defending gold medalist Jakob Ingebrigtsen finished fourth.

Here’s a link to video of the race

Hocker had been a longshot to medal in this race, with Ingebrigtsen and Kerr being the favorites. Hocker finished sixth in the 1500 in Tokyo. At age 23, we are likely to see him in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.