He's right in that if you have an Olympic or WC gold, you get cut a lot of slack. Bu he's got a lot to prove he isn't a one-hit wonder. Let's see him get on the podium in a few more WC or Olympics.
Mills, Wottle and Juantorena were never referred to as one-hit wonders. Winning an Olympic Gold is the ultimate achievement. Because he never won a gold, Ryun’s career was somewhat of a disappointment.
Their careers were seen as limited because they were so short (with the exception of Ryun). For each of them their careers were cut short by injury, which is why they did little beyond their Olympic achievements. That doesn't apply to Hocker. He is increasingly looking like a one-hit wonder. Yes, an Olympic gold is the pinnacle of the sport but it creates the expectation that such an athlete - who is not injured - confirm that status with other significant wins at that or a similar level. Hocker has yet to do so.
Made the fewest mistakes and made the right choices at the right times. Different day, maybe different result but for all the Hocker haters, he got it right when it counted. Like Centrowitz.
Not to discount Centro, but I really don’t like that Hocker is getting the “right place, right time” comparisons for his Olympic gold. If you break the olympic record there’s no kind of flukery going on, and without reading this thread I already know the negative nancies are saying it was a fluke
Winning Olympic gold is all that matters. Regardless of what anyone says as far as times, DL wins, World Champs; OG is the only thing they really want and Hocker has it. And he did it in Olympic record time against the best field ever assembled. It is nearly impossible to top that. At 24, everything he accomplishes from here on out is just a cherry on top. Remember, El G could have easily never won an Olympic gold. Jim Ryun and Steve Scott never did. Alan Webb was never even close. Hocker was smart to take the Grand Slam money(if he actually got paid) and everything that goes with being Olympic Champion. I always view the post-Olympics World Champs as meaningless, particularly for a mid/distance runner, because most athletes put everything into the Olympic year. So regardless of what happens this season, Cole Hocker is Olympic Champion and the best the USA has ever had at 1500 meters.
Honestly I’m glad Hocker said this. He’s running faster than last year and people are still questioning him. He beat the defending Olympic and World Champs in an Olympic record time. He has nothing to prove right now. Hocker hate will not be tolerated!
Winning Olympic gold is all that matters. Regardless of what anyone says as far as times, DL wins, World Champs; OG is the only thing they really want and Hocker has it. And he did it in Olympic record time against the best field ever assembled. It is nearly impossible to top that. At 24, everything he accomplishes from here on out is just a cherry on top. Remember, El G could have easily never won an Olympic gold. Jim Ryun and Steve Scott never did. Alan Webb was never even close. Hocker was smart to take the Grand Slam money(if he actually got paid) and everything that goes with being Olympic Champion. I always view the post-Olympics World Champs as meaningless, particularly for a mid/distance runner, because most athletes put everything into the Olympic year. So regardless of what happens this season, Cole Hocker is Olympic Champion and the best the USA has ever had at 1500 meters.
Fans seem to forget time trialing and championship racing are 2 very different things. He may be a career 2nd-4th placer in Diamond League racing but be the best at getting through rounds and bringing it in the final.
Remember, his kick also dominated at the Trials. Against a very good field.
As much as I'd love to see him winning 3:44-3:45 races, I'd be perfectly ok with "just" seeing him win when it matters most.
And let's be honest, that Oly final was ridiculous. He was clearly the best that day against a very good field.
"The people who view him as a flash in the pan are kind of right."
Wow. No offense, but have these folks even been paying attention to what Hocker has done in the 10+ months since the Olympic final? For example:
* Finished 2nd to JI at Lausanne in 3:29 (and even JI expressed gratitude to CH for showing up notwithstanding the blizzard of attention/level of exhaustion following the Olympics)
*Finished 3rd in Zurich (behind Nuguse and JI, but AHEAD of Laros, Kerr, Habz, both Cheruiyots, etc.)
* Missed 2nd in the DL final by 1/100 second (behind JI and Potato Tim), but again, ahead of every other world class 1500m runner in the field
*Broke the old world record in the 3000i in an epic duel with Fisher
*PR'd in the 5000 (12:57) and the 800 (1:45.13).
Yeah, sounds like a real "flash in the pan." Sure, he has not yet won again in another world-class international race. Yet. We are living in unprecedented times with so many unbelievably talented 1500m runners across the globe. Let's revisit Hocker's "flash in the pan" status after Tokyo.
He's won everything at every level. Some on here still aren't satiisfed - so screw what they think.
I mean just compare him to Centro. Hocker won 3 NCAA titles despite only being in college for two years (and they didn't even have NCAAs his freshman year in college). Centro won 1. Hocker has already won 2 Olympic trials in his career. Centro won 1. Centro never set an American record. Hocker set an American record while winning Olympic gold.
Now Centro won 2 other global medals outdoors and 4 other US outdoor titles and also won indoor gold (Hocker has a silver). But Hocker only turned 24 last month.
a measure of your success is the amount of trolls and criticism you get.
a lot of people hate always hate success.. with success, you learn that.
at the crux, is that Hocker won gold and somehow, to make it legit, he needs to win every other race now, in some peoples silly minds.
Hocker was the best man on the day, except Jacob who suicided, and might not have won anyway with Hocker being the man of the day.
Hocker too, of course got lucky with getting through on the rail.
That's all she wrote.
Hocker stands to improve yet, and move from the top 4 guys to distinct #1, and that's his progression.
That said, the others have their mighty progressions.
Fans seem to forget time trialing and championship racing are 2 very different things. He may be a career 2nd-4th placer in Diamond League racing but be the best at getting through rounds and bringing it in the final.
Remember, his kick also dominated at the Trials. Against a very good field.
As much as I'd love to see him winning 3:44-3:45 races, I'd be perfectly ok with "just" seeing him win when it matters most.
And let's be honest, that Oly final was ridiculous. He was clearly the best that day against a very good field.
No matter how many excuses you make, Hocker has not won a single international race since that gold. He just isn't that good no matter how many excuses you fanboys make.
"The people who view him as a flash in the pan are kind of right."
Wow. No offense, but have these folks even been paying attention to what Hocker has done in the 10+ months since the Olympic final? For example:
* Finished 2nd to JI at Lausanne in 3:29 (and even JI expressed gratitude to CH for showing up notwithstanding the blizzard of attention/level of exhaustion following the Olympics)
*Finished 3rd in Zurich (behind Nuguse and JI, but AHEAD of Laros, Kerr, Habz, both Cheruiyots, etc.)
* Missed 2nd in the DL final by 1/100 second (behind JI and Potato Tim), but again, ahead of every other world class 1500m runner in the field
*Broke the old world record in the 3000i in an epic duel with Fisher
*PR'd in the 5000 (12:57) and the 800 (1:45.13).
Yeah, sounds like a real "flash in the pan." Sure, he has not yet won again in another world-class international race. Yet. We are living in unprecedented times with so many unbelievably talented 1500m runners across the globe. Let's revisit Hocker's "flash in the pan" status after Tokyo.
When someone keeps saying that they don't care how people view them, they definitely care.
Of course he wouldn't trade any of this for his olympic gold, but it must bug him that he's been getting dog-walked by his main competitors race after race since the olympics, and that people are doubting him.
Not always true and he isn't always saying that. Most of the fans here have no idea how competitive the sport is these days and these fans seems to think an athlete should be able to always win every race and set records. If Hocker retires tomorrow he has achieved the pinnacle of accomplishment in the sport and no one can ever take that away from him. Personally, I think he is wasting his time continuing in track and should switch to a different career, enjoy his life and not have to put up with all the fools in this sport.
When someone keeps saying that they don't care how people view them, they definitely care.
Of course he wouldn't trade any of this for his olympic gold, but it must bug him that he's been getting dog-walked by his main competitors race after race since the olympics, and that people are doubting him.
Not always true and he isn't always saying that. Most of the fans here have no idea how competitive the sport is these days and these fans seems to think an athlete should be able to always win every race and set records. If Hocker retires tomorrow he has achieved the pinnacle of accomplishment in the sport and no one can ever take that away from him. Personally, I think he is wasting his time continuing in track and should switch to a different career, enjoy his life and not have to put up with all the fools in this sport.
That’s ridiculous. Running at his level is the dream of every competitive distance runner and he’s living it. It would be obscene for him to walk away from the sport while he is still at the top.
After he retires, he’ll have about 40 years to have a different career and, uh, enjoy life.
Very funny to see how critical people are being of Hocker. If 10 years from now Hocker still has never won another race, sure then you can call him a one hit wonder. But it hasn't even been a year since he won the Olympics and he hasn't run any championship races since then, it's way too soon for people to be so critical.
On doping and the USA, particularly race relations in the USA, yes, Armstronglivs is an expert... in his own mind, but nowhere else.
I don't claim to be an expert. But it is easy to be better informed than most who post here. The bar is pretty low.
You are not better informed than most who post here. Until this year you didn't know EPO is naturally produced in the human body. You thought cross-training meant treadmill running. You just said on this thread that Victor Conte was a sportsman. Yes, the bar is pretty low when you set it.
I like Hocker's statements if they come from a place of true confidence and self-belief. I just hope Salvitore is wrong (but probably isn't) and that Cole will not be that hungry anymore.
Imagine living in a world where we're supposed to accept sex change weirdos, people with tattoos on their face, etc and you're worried that his hair is shoulder length.
MYOB. You should be more concerned about the fact that you wasted your life.
ItsWeird wrote:Based on many, many posts about Centro and Hocker, I have concluded that there are few, if any, fans from any country that will ridicule their own champions more and faster than Americans. Call it "throwing them under the bus" or whatever, but there is a lot of it and it is predictable
Exactly! look at how this message board treats Noah Lyles--an owner of a chest full of global medals. Endless hate while winning an olympic gold, 2 olympic bronzes, 6 world championship golds, and one world championship silver. It is ridiculous.
He's won everything at every level. Some on here still aren't satiisfed - so screw what they think.
I mean just compare him to Centro. Hocker won 3 NCAA titles despite only being in college for two years (and they didn't even have NCAAs his freshman year in college). Centro won 1. Hocker has already won 2 Olympic trials in his career. Centro won 1. Centro never set an American record. Hocker set an American record while winning Olympic gold.
Now Centro won 2 other global medals outdoors and 4 other US outdoor titles and also won indoor gold (Hocker has a silver). But Hocker only turned 24 last month.
Again, where are all these Hocker haters? I see almost nothing but support. This is just that whole everyone wanting to be the victim mentality. Josh Kerr has achieved more and gets way more grief on this site
He's won everything at every level. Some on here still aren't satiisfed - so screw what they think.
I mean just compare him to Centro. Hocker won 3 NCAA titles despite only being in college for two years (and they didn't even have NCAAs his freshman year in college). Centro won 1. Hocker has already won 2 Olympic trials in his career. Centro won 1. Centro never set an American record. Hocker set an American record while winning Olympic gold.
Now Centro won 2 other global medals outdoors and 4 other US outdoor titles and also won indoor gold (Hocker has a silver). But Hocker only turned 24 last month.
Again, where are all these Hocker haters? I see almost nothing but support. This is just that whole everyone wanting to be the victim mentality. Josh Kerr has achieved more and gets way more grief on this site
Where did rojo reference haters?
There are plenty of people concerned he hasn't won anything since the Olympics. The evidence of this is everywhere, and if you're choosing not to see it... well, that's on you.