Who is Cole Hocker? U.S. runner shocks 2024 Paris Olympics with 1500m gold medal

U.S. track and field runner Cole Hocker only led for a few strides in the 1,500-meter run on Tuesday at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it was when it mattered most.

Hocker, who took home the gold medal in the event, turned on the jets at the final stretch to secure his first Olympic medal. His time of 3:27.65, nearly three seconds faster than his personal best, set an Olympic record along the way.

"It’s an unbelievable feeling," Hocker said after the race. "I just felt like I was getting carried by the stadium and God. My body just kind of did it for me. My mind was all there and I saw that finish line."

2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: Follow USA TODAY's full coverage here

The 23-year-old from Indianapolis also helped the United States podium two athletes for the first time in the modern Games, as Yared Nuguse took the bronze medal. United Kingdom's Josh Kerr took the silver medal.

Hocker turned pro in 2021 after running collegiately at Oregon from 2019-21. Here's everything to know about Hocker, the latest American to earn a gold medal in Paris:

REQUIRED READING: Team USA's Cole Hocker wins gold medal in the men's 1,500

Who is Cole Hocker?

Hocker is a middle-distance runner for the United States who won the 1,500-meter run at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday.

Hocker, an Indianapolis native, is in his second Olympics, as he also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics (where he placed sixth in the 1,500-meter run). The gold medal is his first ever at the Olympics. Hocker ran the 1,500-meter race at the U.S. Olympic trials in late June, winning with a time of 3:30.59 to qualify for the Paris Games. He smashed his personal best with a 3:27.65 to win gold on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old runner is from Indianapolis and ran collegiately at Oregon from 2019-21. There, he won three national championships, winning the indoor mile and 3,000-meter run in 2021 before winning the 1,500-meter outdoor run later that season, his last before turning pro. Hocker fended off Nuguse in the 1,500-meter championship, with the two eventually landing on the 1,500-meter podium at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hocker turned pro in 2021, qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics.

Olympic 1500m finish

Here's the final moments of the 1,500-meter run on Tuesday, which saw Hocker storm to the front in the final stretch:

Cole Hocker Olympic trials

Hocker ran a 3:30.59 to set the U.S. Olympic trials record in the 1,500-meter run in late June, which sent him to the 2024 Paris Olympics, his second Olympic nod.

Hocker then followed up with a gold medal at the event at Stade de France.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cole Hocker 1500m win: What to know of U.S. runner at Olympics