Kenyans 11th, 12th as Cole Hocker Upsets Ingebrigtsen, Kerr to Win 1500m Gold

Kenyans 11th, 12th as Cole Hocker Upsets Ingebrigtsen, Kerr to Win 1500m Gold

  • USA's Cole Hocker produced one of the greatest upsets in Olympics history to win the men's 1500m final
  • Hocker defeated favourites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr and set an Olympic record on top of a gold medal
  • Kenyans had a night to forget as Timothy Cheruiyot and Brian Komen finished in the last two spots

USA's Cole Hocker has stunned Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to win gold in the men's 1500m

Ingebrigtsen and Kerr were the favourites to win this race but were upset. Kerr took silver, USA's Yared Nuguse bagged bronze while Ingebrigtsen finished fourth.

Kenya's Timothy Cheruiyot and Brian Komen finished 11th and 12th, a forgettable performance from the East Africans.

Cole Hocker upset Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to win 1500m gold at the Paris Olympics, while Kenyans were poor
Cole Hocker won the 1500m final, while Kenyans finished 11th and 12th. Photo by Steph Chambers.
Source: UGC

Ingebrigtsen, the reigning Olympic champion, got to the front and controlled the pace for the majority of the contest.

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The Norwegian led for most of the race but faded in the final few metres as his bitter rivals Kerr and Nuguse outsprinted him.

Hocker set an Olympic record of 3:27.65 to win. His compatriot Nuguse clocked 3:27.80 for the bronze medal. it was the first time in over a century that the USA have two medalists in the 1500m.

For Ingebrigtsen, it was another disappointing race. He stumbled in the 1500m at major events. He was beaten by Kerr and Jake Wightman in the 1500m in the last two world championships, per World Athletics.

Meanwhile, it was a miserable evening for Kenya, a country with four gold medals in the distance. Cheruiyot and Komen kept up with Ingebrigtsen and Kerr, but the pace seemed too fast.

Cheruiyot finished 11th in 3:31.35, while Komen was last in 3:35.59, per Olympics.com. Kenya last bagged the gold medal in the distance in 2012.

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Cherotich wins steeplechase bronze

Earlier Faith Cherotich executed a decent race to win bronze in the women's 3000m steeplechase, Nation reports.

Cherotich clocked a personal best time of 8:55.15 in a race won by Bahrain's Winfred Yavi, while Uganda's Peruth Chemutai took silver.

Favour Ofili misses out on medal

In another publication, Legit.ng reported that Favour Ofili missed out on a podium finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics 200 metre final.

The Nigerian sprinter narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing just four one-hundredths of a second behind third-place Britanny Brown.

United States’ Gabrielle Thomas finished in first place with a staggering 21.83 seconds, ahead of Julien Alfred, who clinched second with 22.08 seconds.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Authors:
Chukwu Ikechukwu avatar

Chukwu Ikechukwu (Sports Editor) Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a seasoned sports journalist with over a decade of experience across radio, TV, and online media. His career has seen him contribute his expertise to prominent media outlets such as Today FM, Wish FM, Silverbird Communications, and Sports Brief. Chukwu earned his Bachelor's degree in Agriculture from the University of Port Harcourt in 2016. Email: Chukwu.ikechukwu@corp.legit.ng