Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
Cole Hocker’s Family Has the Best Reaction to His Win in the Men’s 1500m (VIDEO)
His parents, Kyle and Janet Hocker, couldn't contain their joy when their son made Olympic history with the "Hocker Shocker."
Cole Hocker’s astonishing final stretch in the men’s 1500-meter finals prompted an excited reaction from his parents, one that matched all of America as it gained another gold medal in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
The 23-year-old middle-distance runner came in hot when passing Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten on the inside track, beating the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist and leaving Great Britain’s Josh Kerr to win silver and fellow teammate Yared Nuguse to win bronze. Despite many betting on Ingebrigsten to dominate in the event, Cole Hocker’s unexpected slingshot win — now trending as the “Hocker Shocker” — had his parents cheering in the stands in ways only proud parents could.
It didn’t take an expert lip reader to see Cole Hocker’s father, Kyle Hocker, scream, “What the f-ck!” as Cole Hocker crossed the finish line.
RELATED: Why Does U.S.-Born Olympian Armand Duplantis Compete for Sweden?
Cole Hocker’s parents react to a gold medal finish
Kyle Hocker, wearing a pale yellow tee and a camo green cap, watched the race with a pair of binoculars with his wife, Janet Hocker, at his side. Janet Hocker, sporting glitter war paint and a white U.S.A. tee, repeatedly yelled, “Let’s go!” while clutching a hand-held fan, increasingly jumping with anticipation.
Once Cole Hocker utilized an opportunity to narrowly pass on the Norwegian racer’s left and gain a record-breaking lead, the parents went wild with the crowds. He finished the race in 3:27.65 and set a new Olympic record, according to Olympics.com.
Kyle Hocker threw his fists in the air before high-fiving and hugging those nearby. Meanwhile, Janet Hocker hopped up and down for the unprecedented takeover.
Cole Hocker would later tell Olympics.com that Tuesday’s win was “an unbelievable feeling.”
“I just felt like I was being carried by the stadium and God,” he said.
His father has long supported his running, and he might be the source of Cole Hocker's running genes. According to The Indianapolis Star, Kyle Hocker completed a 50-mile run for his 50th birthday and never missed his son’s meets.
“I knew he had an unusual skill set,” Kyle Hocker told the outlet in 2021. “We just didn’t know what to do with it.”'
Who is Cole Hocker?
Cole Hocker is a first-time medalist from Indianapolis who realized his calling in the eighth grade when completing a 4:36 mile, an event he said “was definitely a turning point” in his life, according to The Indianapolis Star. As a senior at Cathedral High School, he won several state titles for the 800- and 1600-meter, but it was in his junior year when University of Oregon track coach Ben Thomas noticed Cole Hocker’s talents during a national meet in North Carolina.
His win at the 2018 Foot Locker Nationals and his runner-up finish at Nike Cross Nationals during his senior year helped seal the deal for Cole Hocker, who was “extremely excited and humbled” to join the University of Oregon, despite interest from multiple universities and schools.
Cole Hocker participated in the Tokyo 2020 Games for his first Olympic appearance and placed sixth, according to his Team USA profile.
In 2021, Cole Hocker went pro after an endorsement by Nike, the same year he won the N.C.A.A. Indoor Track and Field Championships, in which he beat Nuguse. The sponsorship required he forfeit any more N.C.A.A. titles, although he’d already amassed four.
He won silver at the 2024 World Indoor Championships in Glasgow.
Cole Hocker's Life Off the Track
When not competing on the track and field, the long-haired Olympian stays busy with his girlfriend, as seen on Cole Hocker’s Instagram profile. According to US Weekly, her name is Sarah Levy, and she is a 2023 University of Oregon graduate who participated in varsity rowing.
In a July 2024 interview with The Indianapolis Star, Cole Hocker said he also enjoys playing music when he finds time to rest.
“There’s very few hobbies I can do in between runs. I can’t go play another sport. The idea is to rest between runs. So, it kind of limits that,” Hocker told the outlet. “I can play piano and play guitar, listening in my room, recovering, hydrating. I think that’s why, it’s accessible for my lifestyle.”
Cole Hocker’s musical talents include his digital mixes of hip-hop and house music. His song, “For the Crowd,” is currently available to listen on Spotify under his pseudonym Davvage.
“It helps me take my mind off something and helps me get better at something," Cole Hocker said. "It’s perfect."
Of course, music hasn't steered Cole Hocker away from his goals. Following Tuesday’s gold medal win, he told Olympics.com he didn't take his eyes from the prize.
“Winning gold was my goal this entire year,” said Cole Hocker. “I wrote that down, and I repeated it to myself, even if I didn’t believe it. I knew I was a medal contender, and I knew that if I get it right, it would be a gold medal.”
RELATED: Olympic Sprinter Wins 200m Race While Wearing Spongebob Socks (VIDEO)
Cole Hocker makes history in the 1500 meter
On Tuesday, Cole Hocker broke the Olympic record for having the fastest time with a 3:27.65, breaking the record Ingebrigsten set in Tokyo when he won with a 3:28.32 finish, according to Olympics.com. Ingebrigsten, however, remains only one of four men in history to have ever broken the 3:27 barrier, according to European Athletics.
Before Cole Hocker’s recent victory, he mostly flew under the radar, partially owing to a long-lasting rivalry between Ingebrigsten and Kerr, the two fastest runners in the 1500-meter. Trash talking between the two, including when Ingebrigsten said he could beat Kerr “blindfolded,” made the 1500-meter one of the most anticipated events of the 2024 Games.
However, Kerr finished in the finals with a 3:27.79, and Team U.S.A.’s Nuguse — for this first Olympic appearance — finished with a 3.27.80, both of which beat the record previously set by Ingebrigsten. It marks the first time in 112 years that two U.S. Olympians shared the podium in the 1500-meter.
Ingebrigsten missed the podium with a fourth-place finish despite leading for 90% of the race, according to Olympics.com. He weakened during the final stretch while Hocker went from fifth place to first in just 300 meters, beating his personal record by more than three seconds, according to ESPN.
In hindsight, not having been expected to win in the Games might have been to Hocker’s advantage.
“I kind of told myself that I’m in this race, too,” Cole Hocker told Olympics.com. “If they let me fly under the radar, then so be it. I think that might’ve just been the best.”
Of his audacious pass by Ingebrigsten, Hocker told EPSN it was a now-or-never moment.
“I just told myself, ‘Don’t be soft,’” said Cole Hocker. “’You’ve got to go with it, or you’re going to regret this for the rest of your life if you don’t go with it.’”
Of course, taking a chance worked in Cole Hocker’s favor, and his dramatic win has certainly left its mark on Olympic history.
