Browsing: Hocker

With a lap to go Cole Hocker ran third among the Americans, in 12th place overall. A jets-in-his-shoes final circuit rewrote that scenario. (KEVIN MORRIS)

SWEET REDEMPTION, you could call it. Cole Hocker, the Olympic champion disqualified here for jostling in the 1500, came back in the 5000 and burst forth from a crowded pack of contenders on the final lap to claim the gold with a scintillating kick.

The heats had claimed several significant names: Niels Laros (Netherlands), Andreas Almgren (Sweden) and Kuma Girma (Ethiopia). All the Americans got through.

In the final, it immediately appeared that Grant Fisher was following through on his hints of driving a faster pace to sap the kickers after his 8th in the 10,000. He and Nico Young (5th in the longer race) moved to the front after a slow initial 600, part of a planned collaboration.

For the next 800, Fisher led. The first K took 2:40.40. The next, with Young leading at 2K in 5:15.12, took 2:34.72. Ethiopiaâ€s Hagos Gebrhiwet moved up to join them and took the lead a half lap later. The pace slipped a bit, and at 2900 Fisher moved back in front, leading past 3000 in 7:51.78, for a 2:36.66 kilo split.

Fisher pushed for another lap before Ethiopiaâ€s Biniam Mehary went up front. Then a half lap later, it was defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen who took control. Fisher, swallowed by the pack, ended up boxed, as Young ran on the outside and Hocker lurked farther back. The Norwegian slowed it up, leading through 4K in 10:32.16, a 2:40.38 for the front of the pack.

Belgiumâ€s Isaac Kimeli shadowed Ingebrigtsen, who stayed in front until 400 to go, when Mehary got to the front. At that point, Hocker was still the third American, in 12th. By 300 to go, Hocker had made it up to 9th, with Young in 5th just behind 10K winner Jimmy Gressier.

Mehary, just 18, still led with a half-lap to go, just ahead of Kimeli and Gressier, with Hocker on the move in 5th. The final turn left no doubt that Hocker was closing like a runaway train. He took the lead on the straight and never wavered in claiming gold in 12:58.30, his last lap 52.62, final 200 a brilliant 25.50.

Kimeli (12:58.78) and Gressier (12:59.33) grabbed the other podium spots, with Australian (and Stanford alum) Ky Robinson running 12:59.61 to pass Mehary (12:59.95) and Young (13:00.07). Fisher finished a dispirited 8th in 13:00.79.

Said Hocker, “I wanted to end the World Championships on my terms, especially after how I prepared all year for this. I felt I was robbed in the 1500. I knew I had the opportunity today, that I had the legs to take this field. I had a lot of bodies ahead of me but I felt very strong — enough to pass them one by one. Our last 5K champion [Bernard] Lagat was someone I grew up watching. This is a huge step to win this gold like he did. I felt like I raced perfectly today.â€

MENâ€S 5000 RESULTS

FINAL (September 21)

1. Cole Hocker (US) 12:58.30 PR

(2:41.88, 2:34.67 [5:16.55], 2:36.27 [7:52.82], 2:30.17 [10:32.99], 2:25.31)

(12.51, 25.50, 52.62, 1:54.06, 4:01.09);

2. Isaac Kimeli (Bel) 12:58.78

(13.10, 26.36, 54.06, 1:55.05, 4:01.77);

3. Jimmy Gressier (Fra) 12:59.33

(13.39, 26.76, 54.28, 1:55.30, 4:02.50);

4. Ky Robinson (Aus) 12:59.61

(13.23, 26.44, 54.07, 1:55.29, 4:02.21);

5. Biniam Mehary (Eth) 12:59.95

(14.05, 27.67, 55.42, 1:55.96, 4:03.59);

6. Nico Young (US) 13:00.07

(13.50, 27.07, 54.73, 1:56.09, 4:03.37);

7. Birhanu Balew (Bhr) 13:00.55

(14.20, 27.81, 55.69, 1:56.83, 4:04.06);

8. Grant Fisher (US) 13:00.79

(13.33. 26.93, 55.30, 1:56.73, 4:04.57);

9. Yann Schrub (Fra) 13:01.34;

10. Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Nor) 13:02.00;

11. Mathew Kipsang (Ken) 13:03.67;

12. Mike Foppen (Neth) 13:05.94;

13. Hagos Gebrhiwet (Eth) 13:07.02;

14. Etienne Daguinos (Fra) 13:11.72;

15. Valentin Soca (Uru) 13:34.35;

16. George Mills (GB) 13:44.88.

(leader kilos: Fisher 2:40.40; Young 5:15.12; Fisher 7:51.78; Ingebrigtsen 10:32.16)

HEATS (September 19)

I–1. Kimeli 13:13.06; 2. Kipsang 13:13.33; 3. Hocker 13:13.41; 4. Young 13:13.51; 5. Robinson 13:13.60; 6. Gebrhiwet 13:13.73; 7. Foppen 13:13.97; 8. Daguinos 13:14.87; 9. Andreas Almgren (Swe) 13:16.38; 10. Santiago Catrofe (Uru) 13:17.26; 11. Dominic Lobalu (Swi) 13:19.57; 12. Narve Gilje NordÃ¥s (Nor) 13:25.00; 13. Kenneth Kiprop (Uga) 13:25.15; 14. Jacob Krop (Ken) 13:28.73; 15. Nagiya Mori (Jpn) 13:29.44; 16. Florian Bremm (Ger) 13:31.09; 17. Brian Fay (Ire) 13:31.12; 18. Seth Oâ€Donnell (Aus) 13:34.52; 19. Sulaiman Zhusup (Kir) 14:47.40;… dnf—Kuma Girma (Eth).

II–1. Mehary 13:41.52; 2. Gressier 13:41.64; 3. Balew 13:41.75; 4. Mills 13:41.76; 5. Soca 13:41.80; 6. Fisher 13:41.83; 7. Schrub 13:42.00; 8. Ingebrigtsen 13:42.15; 9. Gulveer Singh (Ind) 13:42.34; 10. Darragh McElhinney (Ire) 13:42.56; 11. Mohamed Abdilaahi (Ger) 13:44.68; 12. Cornelious Kemboi (Ken) 13:45.79; 13. John Heymans (Bel) 13:47.37; 14. Thierry Ndikumwenayo (Spa) 13:47.72; 15. Saymon Tesfagiorgis (Eri) 13:49.43; 16. Jack Rayner (Aus) 13:49.46; 17. Eduardo Herrera (Mex) 13:51.29; 18. Harbert Kibet (Uga) 13:52.36; 19. Andrew Coscoran (Ire) 13:56.95; 20. Jamal Abdelmaji Eisa Mohammed (Sud) 13:58.90;… dnf—Niels Laros (Neth).

Jeff Hollobaugh is a writer and stat geek who has been associated with T&FN in various capacities since 1987. He is the author of How To Race The Mile. He lives in Michigan where he can often be found announcing track meets in bad weather.

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At last yearâ€s Paris Olympics Cole Hocker proved over 1500m that he has one of the most devastating finishing kicks in track and field. Over 5,000m in Tokyo the American reinforced the message even more emphatically.

When the bell rang for the final lap Hocker was in 11th place, and close to 15 metres off the lead. But he quickly began picking his rivals off before timing his final surge to perfection to take gold in 12min 58.30sec, ahead of Belgiumâ€s Isaac Kimeli, with Jimmy Gressier adding bronze to his 10,000m gold.

Afterwards Hocker wasted no time in claiming vindication after being controversially disqualified earlier in the week for “jostling†in the semi-finals of the 1500m. “I wanted to end the world championships on my terms,†he said. “I felt like I was robbed in the 1500m. I knew I had the opportunity today and that I had the legs to take this field. I had a lot of bodies ahead of me but I felt very strong; enough to pass them one by one.

“I felt like I raced perfectly. Every time I run the 5,000m I am pushed out of my comfort zone. I felt here that I was working every lap. I make music on my computer and play some guitar and piano. Now I want to eat a lot of Japanese food. I just want to eat and drink.â€

There was further success for the US on the final night in Tokyo in the womenâ€s 4x100m relay, as Shaâ€Carri Richardson led them home ahead of Jamaica in a raging storm that left the track swimming in surface water.

It meant that Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the 100m and 200m champion, finished with a third title. “Itâ€s crazy to be going home with three gold medals,†she said. “I added my name to the history books once again. I am right where I want to be.â€

However, the great Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who has won 25 Olympic and world medals in a career stretching back to 2007, was more than happy to settle for silver in her final race.

Jamaicaâ€s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce embraces the Germany team after the womenâ€s 4x100m final, winning a silver in what was the last race of her career. Photograph: Petr David Josek/AP

“I have had an amazing career and todayâ€s medal is the icing on the cake,†she said. “My son will be excited. Today is a full circle moment for me. I was a reserve at my first world championships in Osaka in 2007. I couldnâ€t have it any other way. I am grateful for the medals, the stadiums and the crowds where I have competed throughout my career. I have some plans and I want to focus on advocacy and support women and athletes. I want to continue to make an impact.â€

Germany took bronze after Gina Lückenkemper held off Darryl Neita. “I wasnâ€t sure we had won a medal when I crossed the line because we were in an outside lane,†she said. “And then Daryll Neita from GB, she told me. Sheâ€s like: ‘Girl, youâ€ve got it.â€â€

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Final medal table for Tokyo 2025

There was a third gold medal for the US in the menâ€s 4x100m, with Noah Lyles ending the World Athletics Championships with a bronze and two gold medals after leading the team home to an easy win. Lyles said: “We all know we are the fastest. We just had to get the baton from start to finish.â€

Elsewhere Germanyâ€s Leo Neuberger took gold in the decathlon, while the Australian Nicola Olyslagers won her first title with a clearance of 2.00m in the womenâ€s high jump, which was affected by a 30-minute rain delay.

The final event to finish was the menâ€s discus, which was won by Swedenâ€s Daniel StÃ¥hl after an even lengthier delay. His throw of 70.47m took him clear of Lithuaniaâ€s Mykolas Alekna and Alex Rose, who secured Samoaâ€s first ever global medal in athletics with a throw of 66.96m for bronze.

The completion of the discus marked the culmination of a hugely successful event which the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, hailed as “a championship for the agesâ€.

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Caught in a box on the final homestretch in his World Champs 1500 semi, Paris Olympic gold medalist Cole Hocker…

USAâ€s Olympic 1500m champion, Cole Hocker, was disqualified from his semi-final at the world championships in Tokyo on Monday after he barged his way through a crowd on the home straight.

Hocker was boxed in on the inside with nowhere to go – just as he had been in the Olympic final a year ago. He saw a sliver of a gap open and charged through, making contact with Germanyâ€s Robert Farken, and then broke clear to finish second. Farken, who appeared to have his rhythm disrupted, went on to finish 10th.

The 24-year-old was disqualified for “jostlingâ€, which World Athletics regulations define as “physical contact on one or more occasions with another athlete or athletes that results in an unfair advantage or causes injury or harm to them or, consequently, to another athlete or athletes.â€

After the race, Hocker explained his thinking. “It was tight, I was looking for any kind of gap I could find,†Hocker said. “I tried my best to get through there as cleanly as possible, but I knew everybody was going to be coming from behind really fast.

“I got a little bit trapped in there. I have been in that position a few times before and I just tried to stay calm. I trust my instincts and just try to move through as well as I can.â€

On this occasion his instincts did not work out and the US teamâ€s appeal was rejected.

The Dutchman Niels Laros was the fastest qualifier for Wednesdayâ€s final, with the British duo Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman – the last two world champions – going through strongly. Hockerâ€s compatriot Jonah Koech also advanced to the final.

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