Since JG has been covering these finals for LRC, he pretty reliably puts the last lap split in his article.
Before that, a fun trip down the YouTube rabbit hole. For the few where the last lap split wasn’t shown on the broadcast when the winner crossed the line, I’d calculate it from the winning time and the cumulative time with a lap to go (again usually shown on the screen). So for a few of those, the last lap split is leader to leader.
that being said, from rewatching the last lap of all those races, it’s pretty rare the winner isn’t within 1 or 2 stride lengths of the leader at the bell. What a race by Hocker.
It was pretty insane, honestly. This is one of those races when watching the replay, even knowing the outcome, there's that little voice in the back of your head thinking "Well, Hocker's out of it...". It's not just how fast his last lap was, it's how he did it; I've been following athletics since the 70's and it's hands down one of the best championship finishes I've ever witnessed (and yes, I understand "recency bias" is a thing.). The level of self-knowledge and confidence to play that game is off the charts imho. Once at this level, for me it's impossible to judge the best finish ever; too many variables like weather, pace changes during a race, DL vs a race after rounds (don't forget Cole had to run 13:13 in his heat; when I saw that I got a little nervous...), etc. He's in the headiest company possible at this point and that's enough.
Cole clearly seems to have stepped up his fitness big time in the last year and is at the cusp of his prime years; if he can stay healthy he is going to be one very very difficult nut to crack in any championship race for the foreseeable future. (Too bad we're 2 years away from the next one; an eternity in athletics.) He is arguably at the point where someone is going to have to run in the mid/low 12:40's to drop him before the sprint, and at the moment who is there that is going to do that in a no wavelight/no pacers WC/Oly final? We're talking about a full-strength Jakob or the equivalent being willing to take it out at near WR pace and keep drilling it until Cole gets sawed off the back, no small task. Just my .02 mind you.
I would also love to see him go for some big PR's in the off-championship year next season, not so sure that's the kind of thing which motivates him as much as going for global gold though. Personally I'd love to see a paced 3000 attempt, to me I'm feeling that might be his sweet spot right now. Anyway; hell of a race. Love him or hate him, we'll be talking about this one for a long time.
The appropriate comparison is with a Lance Armstrong hill-climb.
The pace seemed to be a kicker’s sweet spot. Not blistering, and fast enough where everyone else’s wheels are cooked so it looks like they’re standing still on the last lap. Lagat beating Bekele in almost an identical race kinda proves this. If hocker positioned himself a little better going into the bell it would’ve been a more decisive win. He looked like he had more in the tank for a 500 m kick and probably could’ve ran a 51 second lap if he went into the bell with momentum. He’s a stud for sure but he probably has a bit of imposter syndrome, hasn’t fully set in that he’s a bone ride champion at the world level.
The pace seemed to be a kicker’s sweet spot. Not blistering, and fast enough where everyone else’s wheels are cooked so it looks like they’re standing still on the last lap. Lagat beating Bekele in almost an identical race kinda proves this. If hocker positioned himself a little better going into the bell it would’ve been a more decisive win. He looked like he had more in the tank for a 500 m kick and probably could’ve ran a 51 second lap if he went into the bell with momentum. He’s a stud for sure but he probably has a bit of imposter syndrome, hasn’t fully set in that he’s a bone ride champion at the world level.
Three years ago I watched Hocker win the USATF CLUB xc championships in the rain at Golden Gate Park. To think what has transpired since is honestly mind blowing. I remember thinking, poor guy, reduced to running in this race in a huge storm, and now he's arguably the greatest championship distance racer in US history. Crazy.
I kinda gave up on track for a while. but Cole hocker seemed to burn the barn down no matter where he went. such a spectacular kick. the kid knows how to win