HOekews342 wrote:
It’s easy to say Cole Hocker got lucky at the Olympics—because, well, he did. If JI had closed the inside lane, Hocker likely finishes fourth. But that’s the nature of a 1500m final stacked with talent. In races like that, the winner is almost always a mix of greatness on that day and good fortune. Hocker had both when it counted.
But let’s not overlook the other side of the story: Yared Nuguse. Most people don’t realize that Nuguse’s final 200 meters were just as fast as Hocker’s. The difference? He launched his kick from a worse position. In the 1500m, positioning is everything—and Nuguse simply didn’t have the same window.
I’m a Hocker fan, no doubt. But if I had to bet on who history will remember as the better runner, my money’s on Nuguse. Both of these guys are on a fast track to being mentioned among the greatest American mid-distance runners of all time.
Time will tell—but it’s going to be fun to watch.
Jakob did shut down the inside lane once on Hocker. Most athletes don’t do it at all, so the idea that an athlete would do it twice while facing a threat on the outside is grasping for straws. Drifting wide is really common, even when nobody is there.
There’s also zero chance if you reversed roles, that Nuguse could’ve restarted his kick and won like Hocker did. We’ve seen Yared get impeded/stride-checked before, it ends really badly considering how long/deliberate his stride is. Hocker was the best guy on the day by a big margin in Paris, as he didn’t even need the last 150 to go perfectly right to win by almost two-tenths.