For the past year, since last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, the focus in the men’s 1500 meters has been on two people: Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Josh Kerr of Great Britain. Those two guys are talented, they have a fierce rivalry, and they like to trash talk.
The attention on the two of them suits the three Americans in the event—Cole Hocker, Yared Nuguse, and Hobbs Kessler—just fine.
But make no mistake: the Americans are not ceding anything, except for maybe a little bit of the pressure that comes with being in the spotlight.
On August 4 in Paris, all three U.S. men breezed through the 1500-meter semifinals and into the Olympic final on August 6. It’s the first time since 1968 that the U.S. has had three men in an Olympic 1500-meter final.
Hocker was in the first semifinal, and he finished third in 3:32.54, right behind Ingebrigtsen and Kerr.
“That was a really fun race,” Hocker said afterward. “I’m back where I know I should be, the Olympic final for the second time, and I just have all the confidence in the world.”
On Hocker’s first trip to the Games, Tokyo in 2021, he finished sixth in the final, but he was well out of medal contention.
Now, he aims to be in the mix. Or in front of the mix.
“I’m not writing myself out of that gold medal quite yet,” he said.
Nuguse and Kessler were in the second semifinal, and they finished first and second. After a bumpy first-round heat, Nuguse led wire-to-wire and ran 3:31.72. Kessler, who had talked with Nuguse before the race about his plan, tucked in on the rail behind his Olympic teammate. Kessler finished in 3:31.97.
“I like running behind him,” Kessler said of Nuguse. “He still normally runs away from me. But he gives me a nice ride and a nice clean path to the final. Didn’t take too much out of me. I’m happy, relieved, ready to forget about it and go for a medal in the final.”
Nuguse said he was much happier with how he performed in the semifinal; in the first round, he got caught in traffic and had to sprint to the finish. “I felt way more relaxed,” he said. “It felt easier, even though it was faster, just because I wasn’t in trouble the whole time.”
The first round, he said, wasn’t indicative of what he was capable of. Tonight was.
“I know where I’m at, I know I’m really good,” Nuguse said, which qualifies as brash, coming from him. “And I’m really, really excited for the final.” He predicted the race would be very fast and a “grindfest” from 600 meters out.
The Americans drew inspiration from Grant Fisher’s performance in the men’s 10,000 meters on August 2, when Fisher won bronze after a frenzied kick in the final lap.
“It was so great to see him perform so well in that 10K and start American men’s distance running off really well,” Nuguse said. He watched in the Olympic Village with Kessler, Bryce Hoppel, Courtney Wayment and some other members of Team USA, including sprinters.
When it came to the bell lap, they were yelling at the TV.
“He was on the rail. We’re like, ‘Get off the rail, Grant! Get off the rail!’” Nuguse said. “With 400 to go, we’re like, ‘You’ve got to get out! You’ve got to get out!’ He figured it out. All’s well that ends well.”
With any luck, some other Americans will be drawing the same inspiration from Hocker, Nuguse, or Kessler—or maybe all three—during the Olympic 1500-meter final.
Sarah Lorge Butler is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
