Olympic Rings Tattoos Now Allowed at Paralympics anticipated track events at 2024 Paris Olympics didn’t disappoint. In a thrilling race, American Cole Hocker, 23, The Fastest Shoes of the Womens Olympic Marathon Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and 2023 World champion Josh Kerr Health - Injuries.
DAA Industry Opt Out Yared Nuguse, 25, took bronze in a personal best 3:27.805. In a stunning finish off the podium, Ingebrigtsen was fourth in 3:28.24.
“The headlines were about them and rightfully so. It’s the Olympic champion and world champion and everyone knows the caliber of athletes they are,” Hocker said. “The headlines made sense and speaking personally, it can be nice to fly under the radar as much as I can in the Olympics. Most people in the race knew I was a competitor, but it was another thing not to have all that noise, so I feel like I took advantage of it.”
Ingebrigtsen took the lead early and set a blistering pace, covering the first lap in 54.9. He kept the lead through the next two laps, slowing a bit, running 56.56 and then 55.89.
“I opened with a 54-second lap. That wasn’t the plan at all,” Ingebrigsten said. “It was at least two seconds too fast. I was thinking about slowing down, but the next lap was almost the same speed. I ruined it for myself by going way too hard.”
At the beginning of the bell lap, Kerr and Tokyo silver medalist Timothy Cheruiyot were close behind him.
“The big thing today was weathering the early storm,” Kerr said, “whether he was going to pull us into deep waters early and see who could survive.”
As Ingebrigtsen moved wide heading out of the final turn, Kerr began to challenge, eventually passing on the outside. But that left the rail free to Hocker to unleash his kick, and he did, catching Kerr by surprise in the final meters.
Meanwhile, Nuguse was quietly gaining ground behind Kerr, and nearly outleaned him for silver. American Hobbs Kessler, 21, Running in the Cold.
Hocker, the U.S. Olympic Trials champion, made the Olympic final in this event in Tokyo, where he placed sixth. Earlier this year, he won silver in the 1500 meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Winning gold was my goal this entire year,” Hocker said after the race. “I wrote that down and I repeated it to myself even if I didn’t believe it. My performances showed me that I was capable of running 3:27, whatever it took. I knew I was a medal contender, and I knew that if I get it right, it would be a gold medal. I’ve been saying that.”
Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart and Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, a book about the psychology of sports injury from Bloomsbury Sport. Cindy specializes in covering injury prevention and recovery, everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things, and the active community in her beloved Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.
