“I just let God carry me to the finish line,” says gold medal winner Cole Hocker

American runner Cole Hocker shocked the track and field world this week by winning the 1,500-meter run at the Paris Olympics.

Hocker finished in a personal best and Olympic record time of 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds. He surged past Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Josh Kerr of Great Britain in the final 100 meters to secure the victory. Leading up to the race, all eyes were on the rivalry between defending Olympic champion Ingebrigtsen and 2023 world champion Kerr.

For Hocker, this race was the pinnacle of his career thus far, following a sixth-place finish at the Tokyo Games and a seventh-place at the 2023 World Championships.

“I just saw, obviously, Kerr and Ingebrigtsen just battling, kind of having their own battle,” he said in an interview. “And I knew that in my head, that they were so focused on each other. And I just let God carry me through the finish line. I just had the vivid thought of how my life just changed, and I can’t even process that right now.”

Reflecting on his victory, Hocker expressed a profound sense of gratitude and awe. “It felt like I was being carried by the energy of the stadium and God,” he said. “My mind was focused, and my body followed through with the strength and determination I had.”

A product of the University of Oregon, Hocker has long acknowledged the role of his faith in his running career.

“The reason I run is because I have a God-given talent,” he said in a 2021 interview. “I just feel God has given me the gift of running, and my job is to give it my best. On top of that, because I’ve been given that, I want to take advantage of it. And it’s more gratifying because of how hard I have worked.”

The Olympics are being carried by NBC.

–Alan Goforth