Cole Hocker

Cole Hocker (born June 6, 2001) is an American middle- and long-distance runner. He holds multiple national titles in annual competitions organized by USA Track & Field, including four titles in the 1500 meters and one title in the 3000 meters. In March 2024, he won a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. Hocker also placed sixth in the 1500 m at the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo and seventh at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

In high school, Hocker won several high-level competitions, including the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships in 2018. Beginning in 2019, he competed collegiately for the University of Oregon, where he won four NCAA titles. Hocker announced in 2021 that he would forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility to run professionally, signing to run under Nike.

Background and youth sports
Hocker grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and began running competitively at a young age, recording a time of 4:36 in the mile as an eighth grader. He attended Cathedral High School, where he won multiple state- and national-level races. He was second in the 2017 IHSAA Cross Country State Finals and won in '18. He finished second at the 2018 Nike Cross Nationals, and he won the 2018 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships. For college, he chose the University of Oregon over offers from many other schools, including Northern Arizona University and Indiana University.

Collegiate competition


Hocker ran for the Oregon Ducks from 2019 to 2021. At the 2021 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, he won the mile in 3:53.71 and the 3000 metres in 7:46.15. Earlier that year, he ran a personal best of 3:50.55 in the mile on February 12, 2021, finishing in a close second to teammate Cooper Teare at a meet at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The two set the seventh and eighth all-time fastest performances for the indoor mile.

At the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he won the 1500 metres in a time of 3:35.35, outkicking NCAA record holder Yared Nuguse. He also finished 4th in the 5000 metres in a time of 13:18.95. At the 2020 United States Olympic Trials, Hocker won the 1500 m final ahead of Matthew Centrowitz and Yared Nuguse. Hocker did not have the Olympic qualifying time, however he qualified for the games based on his world ranking position.

At the 2020 Olympic Games, Hocker placed 6th in the 1500 metre event with a time of 3:31.40, setting a new personal best. His time was under the Olympic Record set 2 days prior in the semifinals by Abel Kipsang of Kenya. Hocker qualified for the semifinals by running 3:36.16 for 4th in his heat. Hocker then ran 3:33.87, his then personal best, for 2nd in his semifinal to qualify for the final.

2021
On September 13, 2021, Hocker announced his decision to turn professional, forgoing his further participation on the University of Oregon team. Hocker became a Nike-sponsored athlete, and continues to be based in Oregon training under coach Ben Thomas. Hocker made his professional debut at the 2022 Millrose Games, where he competed in the 3,000 meter race. He ran a personal record of 7:39.83, placing third behind Geordie Beamish and teammate Cooper Teare. Two weeks later at Gately Park in Chicago, in a bid for the American indoor mile record of 3:49.98, Teare and Hocker ran personal bests of 3:50.17 and 3:50.35 to place first and second.

2022
At the 2022 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Spokane, Washington, Hocker doubled in the 1,500 meter and 3,000 meter events. He earned his second and third national titles, running a meet record time of 3:39.09 in the 1500m. However, he opted out of the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, turning his focus instead to the outdoor championships in July. An injury at the US National Track and Field championships in June 2022, prevented him from qualifying in the 1500 m for the World Outdoor Championships.

2023
Hocker finished third at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, qualifying him for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. He placed 7th at the world championship final, en route to a new personal best of 3:30.7. In September 2023, Hocker competed in the mile of the Diamond League final at the Prefontaine Classic. He had did not have enough Diamond League points to qualify, but the meet organizers entered him as a national wildcard, based on a rule that allows the host nation to enter an athlete who is of adequate standing in each event. In the race, Hocker finished sixth in a personal best of 3:48.08, the fourth fastest time ever run by an American in the mile.

2024
In February, Hocker ran 8:05.70 in the indoor 2-mile at the Millrose Games. He finished third, behind compatriot Grant Fisher, who broke the American record in the event, and Scotsman Josh Kerr, who broke the world record. Hocker's time was also under the previous American record of 8:07.41 held by Galen Rupp. That same month, Hocker won a national title in the 1500 m at the 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, setting a meeting record in 3:37.51. In March, he won a silver medal for the United States in the 1500 m at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, his first finish on the podium at a global competition. In May, Hocker hit the Olympic qualifying standard in the 5000 m by running a personal best of 12:58.82 at the Los Angeles Grand Prix.

In the final of the 1500 m at the 2024 Olympic trials, Hocker took the lead from Yared Nuguse in the final 250 meters to win in a meet record and personal best of 3:30.59. In doing so, the 23-year-old Hocker qualified for his second Olympic Games.

Achievements
All statistics from athlete's profile on World Athletics.

International championships
Notes: