SAINT-DENIS, France — The race was billed as a bar brawl between the two baddest 1,500-meter runners in the world.
Nobody figured the little-known American guy would sneak up on both of them, steal the show and take the Olympic gold medal with him.
Cole Hocker threw a jolt into track Tuesday night, first catching up to — then slipping his way past — fierce rivals Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to pull the upset of the Games with an unexpected victory in a much-hyped showdown that wasn’t supposed to involve him.
Hocker bettered his personal best by nearly 3 seconds to win in an Olympic-record 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds.
“If you’ve been following my season, you knew I was capable of it,” Hocker said. “But still, things had to go my way today.”
Taking advantage of a blistering early pace set by Ingebrigtsen, the 23-year-old product of University of Oregon pulled from fifth, to third, then finally to first, over the final 300 meters to pass the gassed-out favorites.
This was supposed to be all about a chance for the defending Olympic champion (Ingebrigtsen) and the reigning world champion (Kerr) to finally settle a feud that’s been brewing for over a year. Kerr said the race would be “one of the most vicious and hardest 1,500s the sport’s seen in a very long time.”
Instead, the guy taking home the $50,000 winner’s check was an up-and-comer who was listed as much as a 30-1 long shot. Kerr finished second by .14 seconds. Another American, Yared Nuguse, was third, and Ingebrigtsen faded to fourth.
“It was a deafening noise. I’ve never heard that in a stadium before,” Hocker said of the 80,000 screaming fans in the Stade de France. “I kind of lost feeling in my body and it didn’t feel like the Olympics anymore until it did.”
About an hour after that surprise came an American victory most people saw coming when Gabby Thomas powered through the curve to win the 200-meter title in 21.83 seconds.
Her .25-second margin over 100 champ Julien Alfred was .11-second bigger than Hocker’s, even though Thomas raced half a lap and Hocker nearly four.
Hocker, who recorded his previous personal best of 3:30.59 at Olympic trials this summer, is only the second U.S. man to win the metric mile at the Olympics over the last 112 years. Matt Centrowitz took gold in 2016.
All eyes for this one were trained on Ingebrigtsen, the defending champion out of Norway who came in with a point to prove, and Kerr, the Scotsman who beat him last year at world championships.
Ever since, Kerr and Ingebrigtsen poked at each other. Among the salvos that stuck was Kerr’s assertion that Ingebrigtsen only wins races with pacesetters, which are not allowed at major events like the Olympics.
Against that backdrop, Ingebrigtsen darted to the front quickly and ran there for the first 3 1/2 laps, while Kerr traded between second and third, getting ready for his typical windup and a potential slingshot past the Norwegian over the closing stretch, much the way he did last year.
“Of course, it’s a tactical error that I’m not able to reduce my pace the first 800,” Ingebrigtsen said.
While he and Kerr were wearing each other out, Hocker, his long hair pulled back in a bun and standing at 5-foot-9 1/2, more than 3 1/2 inches shorter than the top two contenders, almost looked like he was trying to photo bomb them at the end of the race.
As they entered the homestretch, Hocker snuck up on the inside once, only to have Ingebrigtsen block that move.
So, Hocker fell back and wound up for another try with about 50 meters left.
Both he and Kerr, who was racing on the outside, passed Ingebrigtsen, then Hocker — his back arched, his chest out and his arms pumping faster than anyone else — beat the Scot to the finish line and raised his hands as he crossed.
“I gathered myself and I attacked again. Just incredible,” Hocker said.
A few paces after the line, Hocker thumped his chest twice, a little celebration in the spotlight for a guy whose own steady success got overshadowed by the all the hype.
“They’ve had all this added pressure and all that and noise,” Hocker said. “I think that’s part of this. This job is blocking out that noise and it gets harder and harder the more you excel.”
Kerr called Hocker’s performance “the best the Olympics has ever seen.”
“That’s good enough for me for silver today and it will get me hungry for the next time around,” Kerr said.
Let the record show that Kerr did, in fact, beat Ingebrigtsen in this race, bringing his all-time record against his rival to 3-13 at this distance.
For over a year, though, it’s been clear that neither was racing for second.
The next meeting in another of track’s best rivalries — this one between Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol — will come in the Olympic final.
The two best at the 400-meter hurdles won their semifinals easily.
McLaughlin-Levrone, who clipped a hurdle in her opening round, went cleanly around the track this time and finished in 52.13. Bol did the lap in 52.57.
The two have only faced off twice. McLaughlin set world records at both races, with Bol finishing third at the last Olympics and second at the 2022 world championships.
“Iron sharpens iron,” McLaughlin said. “It’s always fun racing the best and I know we’re going to push each other.”
Kirani James, the 2012 Olympic champion, had the best time in the men’s 400-meter semifinals, winning his heat in 43.78.
The runners with the two best times this year, America’s Quincy Hall and Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith, won their semifinals and will be joined by American Michael Norman to set up one of the more wide-open finals.
Defending champion Steven Gardiner, struggling with injuries this year, pulled out before the first round.
Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece won his second gold in a row in a men’s long jump final that was missing an American for only the second time in a non-boycott Games since the Summer Olympics started in 1896.
Canada’s Camryn Rogers added an Olympic gold in hammer throw to the gold she won at world championships last year. Annette Echikunwoke of the U.S. won silver.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
