El G actually broke down after winning the 2004 Athens 1500m race over Lagat after falling in 1996, getting outkicked in 2000, and finally surging back ahead of Lagat in the last meters. That was just the end product of a lifetime of pressure being released in one moment. So, when he won double gold with the 5000m win, there was just triumph.
For Hocker, it was a combination of believing in himself enough to go for the win with 600m to go, as reigning Olympics 1500m champ before the home country crowd against the double Olympic medalist at 5/10, losing nonetheless in the 2nd fastest time ever, performing way beyond his own expectations, and getting every last bit of effort out of his body that made him emotional.
I had him running 7:27, Grant 7:25, and they both just knocked it out of the park. If you run 3:27 on 7:29i(c), what can you run after 7:23.14? Cole knows that he is amazingly fit right now and the sky's the limit for him this year.