Cole Hocker broke the Olympic track and field record in the 1500 m in the USA

David Woods
| Especially for IndyStar

EUGENE, Ore. – Cole Hocker is headed to another Olympics. This time he is fighting for gold.

The Cathedral High School graduate broke the U.S. record in the Olympic 1,500 meters, taking the lead from 250 meters and posting a virtuosic time of 3:30.59.

Notre Dame graduate Yared Nuguse was second in 3:30.86, and 20-year-old Hobbs Kessler was third in 3:31.53.

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Hocker’s time was a personal best, bettering his time of sixth place at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

The top eight finished under the trials record of 3:34.09 set by Matthew Centrowitz in 2016 when he won gold in Rio de Janeiro.

Nuguse has won every meeting with Hocker, compiling a 6-0 record since the 2021 Olympic Trials, with three of the races taking place at Hayward Field. In 2021, Hocker defeated Nuguse to win at the NCAA Trials and Championships.

They never raced each other in 2022, with both struggling with injuries.

During these trials, Hocker won his first qualifying round in 3:34.54, just off the trials record, and his semifinal in 3:37.89, slipping through a gap in the rail.

Nuguse was second in the semifinals with a time of 3:37.61, and won the semifinal with a time of 3:34.09, breaking Centrowitz’s record.

Hocker won a silver medal in the 1,500 m at the World Indoor Championships in March.

Contact IndyStar correspondent David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.