Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley and Twanisha Terry were impressed by Cole Hocker's stunning win in the 1500m race at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The American managed to outpace favorites Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway and Josh Kerr of Great Britain to claim the gold.
Hocker was in fourth place as he began the bell lap, but he surged ahead by taking the inside lane and sprinted down the home stretch. He won the gold with a time of 3:27.65, leaving Ingebrigtsen, Kerr, and his teammate Yared Nuguse behind. Kerr secured the silver with 3:27.79, Nuguse took bronze with 3:27.80, and Ingebrigtsen finished fourth.
Hocker's victory made him the first American to win an Olympic gold at the distance since Matthew Centrowitz in 2016. The 23-year-old also set a new American record improving his previous personal best of 3:30:70 by more than three seconds.
Cole Hocker's remarkable performance drew praise from Noah Lyles, Fred Kerley, and Twanisha Terry. Lyles took to X to share his enthusiasm, revealing that his compatriot's victory had him "screaming his head off."
"That was an amazing 1500! Cole Hocker you got me screaming my head off!" he wrote.
Kerley chipped in, writing:
"Cole the man of the night."
Meanwhile, Terry posted:
"Man I started standing on the massage table yelling."
Noah Lyles & Fred Kerley win gold and bronze in 100m at Paris Olympics 2024
Noah Lyles and Fred Kerley began their 2024 Paris Olympics campaign on a high note, winning medals in the 100m sprint on August 5.
Lyles edged out Jamaica's Kishane Thompson for the gold medal by just five-thousandths of a second, with both runners clocking 9.79. Kerley secured the bronze, finishing third with a time of 9.81.
Lyles is now confident as he looks ahead to the 200m race, aiming to win his first Olympic gold in the category, having bronze in Tokyo. He won his heat in the first round on Monday, advancing to the semifinals.
"Pretty confident," the 27-year-old told the media. "I can't lie. You know, Kenny put up a fast time at trials and that definitely woke me up. I was, you know, very proud of him and definitely, he is not going to take it how he did it here in the 100 lying down."
"I am going after it but my job is to make sure that that man ain't winning. None of them is winning. When I come off the turn, they will be depressed," he added.