Team USA’s Cole Hocker upset world champion Josh Kerr just before the finish line in a last-minute surge to win the gold medal with an Olympic-record time in the men’s 1,500-meter final on Tuesday in Saint-Denis, France.
Hocker, 23, clocked in at 3:27.65 (breaking the previous record of 3:28.32, set by Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Tokyo). Kerr earned the silver medal with a national-record time of 3:27.79 for Great Britain, while Hocker’s teammate Yared Nuguse, 25, earned a third-place finish with a time of 3:27.80, giving the Americans two podium finishers in the event for the first time since 1912.
Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigsten — the Tokyo 2020 champion — just missed out on a medal with fourth place, and USA’s Hobbs Kessler came in fifth. Said Kessler: “I’m super proud, I’m super happy. I’m gonna try processing these feelings at a later date. It made for an amazing race, one for history. I’m super proud to be part of it.”
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