American Cole Hocker wins gold with record 1,500M run

Aug. 6 (UPI) -- American Cole Hocker used a last-second surge to upset world champion Josh Kerr just before the finish line, winning gold with an Olympic-record time in the men's 1,500-meter final Tuesday in Saint-Denis, France.

Kerr earned a silver medal with a national-record time of 3:27.79 for Great Britain. Hocker clocked a 3:27.65. Yared Nuguse finished third, giving the Americans two podium finishers in the event for the first time since 1912.

Hocker was fifth with one lap remaining. He also sat in the middle of the final pack as the elite sprinters took their final turn onto the homestretch.

He then stalked frontman Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigsten -- the Tokyo 2020 champion -- on the inside, but couldn't make an initial pass.

Kerr -- who finished third in Tokyo -- jetted around the outside of both runners to take the lead over the final 100 meters. Hocker then emptied his tank and beat him to the line by several strides for the gold medal.

Earlier Tuesday, Annette Nneka Echikunwoke won the first American medal of the day in athletics. She finished second in the women's hammer throw.

Canada's Camryn Rogers won that event. China's Zhao Jie placed third.