Note: The attached video provided by Irish Connection shows a Cathedral High School watch party and celebration of Cole Hocker's win.
SAINT-DENIS, France — Hocker has pulled a shocker!
Indianapolis native and Cathedral High School graduate Cole Hocker, 23, raced his way to gold with a historic Olympic upset on Tuesday night.
Competing in the men's 1,500-meter final, Hocker stormed ahead in the final stretch with a heroic effort to shoot past favorites Jakob Ingebrigsten and Josh Kerr. Hocker's final push shot him from fifth place to first and scored him not only a gold medal but an Olympic record with a final time of 3:27.65.
Kerr, of Great Britain, finished second with 3:27.79 while fellow American Yared Nuguse came in a sliver behind Kerr at 3:27.80 to claim the bronze medal. Kerr and Ingebrigsten, of Norway, were race favorites and led a majority of the race until Hocker and Nuguse made their move in the final stretch.
This is Hocker's second Olympics, having previously competed in the Tokyo 2020 Games. He finished sixth in the 1,500-meter race in Tokyo.
Hocker was a two-time IHSAA state champion (800m and 1,600m) while attending Cathedral High School. He also won a cross-country state championship in his senior year.
Hocker competed in college for the Oregon Ducks and was listed as a 30-1 long shot for the 1,500-meter final. Hocker becomes the first American to win in the metric mile since Matt Centrowitz took gold in 2016.
This is the first time Americans put two men on the 1,500-meter podium since the Stockholm Games in 1912.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.