Cathedral grad wins gold medal, sets Olympic record
PARIS (WISH) — Cole Hocker, a Cathedral High School graduate, won the gold medal in the men’s 1,500-meter. He also set an Olympic record with a time of 3:27.65.
He was joined by a fellow American on the podium, Yared Nuguse. Nuguse won the bronze medal, finishing just 0.01 seconds after Josh Kerr from Great Britain who won silver.
“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.”
In Tokyo, Hocker finished sixth in the 1500-meter.
Hocker went into the final straightaway in third place, behind Kerr and the favorite and former Olympic record holder, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. His closing speed was tremendous, pulling past both of them. He beat Kerr by 0.14 seconds.
He was even farther back earlier in the race. With 300 meters remaining, Hocker was in fifth.
After graduating from Cathedral, Hocker went to college at the University of Oregon.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.