Fantasy Track Becomes Reality: Hocker, Kerr, Nuguse, Wanyonyi & Arop To Clash Twice in 24 Hours in Kingston

The first-ever Grand Slam Track meet kicks off on Friday in Kingston, Jamaica. And no event group is more compelling than the men’s “short distance,” which will feature a 1500m on Saturday and an 800m on Sunday. Not only will we get to see all three Olympic medalists (Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr, Yared Nuguse) from one of the greatest 1500m races in history, but they’ll be joined by Olympic 800 champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Olympic 800 silver medalist Marco Arop, and American 800 record holder Bryce Hoppel, who are stepping up to challenge them in an unrabbitted 1500. A day later, they’ll all race the 800, where the roles will be reversed.

(LRC Full preview: Grand Slam Track’s Big Swing: What to Expect from Its Kingston Launch )

Hocker v. Kerr v. Nuguse is a treat. We saw them race each other three times last year, at Prefontaine in May, the Olympics in August, and Zurich in September. Kerr won Pre, Hocker won the Olympics, and Nuguse won Zurich — so this is really anyone’s race. But the addition of the 800 stars is what turns this into fantasy track & field. You’d have to go back almost 10 years, to the Olympic 800m final in Rio — August 15, 2016 — to find the last time the reigning Olympic 800 champ raced the reigning Olympic 1500 champ. (That race was an 800, and unsurprisingly the Olympic 800 champ David Rudisha prevailed over 1500 champ Taoufik Makhloufi in Rudisha’s specialty event).

Grand Slam Track’s format has its drawbacks, but this sort of opportunity for crossover matchups is one of its strengths — particularly in the first meet when we’ve never seen it before. Wanyonyi has never run a Diamond League 1500 and Hocker has never run a Diamond League 800. Who knows when (or if) they ever would have? Now we’ll get to see them race each other in both distances in the span of a single weekend.

Newly-crowned World Indoor champ Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who appears unlikely to race any Grand Slam Track meets this year, is the one major mid-d name missing from the field (Josh Hoey fans might disagree). But this is still a loaded event that any distance fan should be dying to see. Below, five thoughts on what should be two terrific races.

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As a reminder, the 1500 is at 7:50 p.m. ET on Saturday while the 800 is at 4:39 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Here’s the full field for the men’s short distance group in Kingston, with pbs.

*TV/streaming information *Schedule & entries *Full meet preview: Grand Slam Track’s Big Swing: What to Expect from Its Kingston Launch

1) The big dogs are racing each other right away…

Historically, we don’t see many big-time races during the first week of April. You might get some sprinters busting rust at college meets, but most top distance pros don’t race at all during this time.

Not this year. Not only are we getting Hocker v. Kerr v. Nuguse, we are getting it right out of the blocks. It’s a starry matchup during a time of the track calendar that would otherwise be barren.

(Editor’s note: Of course if not for GST, we might have seen many of these 1500 guys clash in a single event for World Indoor gold two weeks ago).

2) …and that includes Josh Kerr

Kerr scored a big win over Nuguse and Hocker at the 2024 Pre Classic (Kevin Morris photo)

One of the knocks on Josh Kerr is that he doesn’t race enough. This is the guy Jakob Ingebrigtsen referred to last summer as “the Brit who never competes.” That criticism is not unjustified. Last season, Kerr ran just three finals in his specialty distance: the mile at the Pre Classic on May 25, the Olympic 1500 final in Paris on August 6, and the 1500 in Zurich on September 5 (it’s four races if you count the Fifth Avenue Mile, which Kerr ran instead of the DL final).

This year, Kerr had only one race on his indoor schedule, the Wanamaker Mile at Millrose — and wound up missing it because he got sick. He didn’t run Euro Indoors or World Indoors, either. By comparison, Neil Gourley — who, like Kerr, is a US-based Brit — ran Millrose, UK Indoors, Euro Indoors, World Indoors, and is entered in Kingston as well.

To Kerr’s credit, when he did compete last year, he made it count. He called his shot ahead of the 2024 Millrose Games by announcing he was targeting Mo Farah‘s 2-mile world record more than two months ahead of time, and backed it up by running 8:00.67 to break the record. He was brilliant in winning the 3000 at World Indoors last year. He took down a stellar field to win the Bowerman Mile at Pre, and he ran the best race of his life to take silver in the Olympic final. When Kerr locks in on a race, he typically produces something special.

Now that he’s with Grand Slam Track, we’ll get to see Kerr face two of his biggest rivals eight times over the next three months. Ingebrigtsen isn’t committed to GST, but if he wants a piece of Kerr, he knows where to find him.

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3) Another installment in the Hocker-Nuguse rivalry

Cole Hocker and Yared Nuguse are both polite Midwesterners, so their rivalry carries none of the enmity that exists between Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr. But it is a great rivalry nonetheless, with both men enjoying periods of dominance.

Hocker, two years younger than Nuguse, was the bigger star in high school, winning Foot Lockers in 2018, but Nuguse was the first to win an NCAA title in 2019. Two years later, Hocker had his breakout year, outkicking Nuguse in an all-time classic NCAA 1500 final in 2021. They both made their first Olympic team later that summer.

Hocker’s 6th-place finish at the 2021 Olympics positioned him as the bigger prospect as the two began their professional careers in 2022, but Nuguse seized the upper hand in 2023. As Hocker recovered from an early-season injury, Nuguse broke American records in the 1500, mile, and 3000, winning the US 1500 title and a pair of Diamond Leagues along the way.

Then a healthy Hocker came storming back in 2024, defeating Nuguse at the Olympic Trials and winning Olympic gold in Paris while running 3:27. Though Nuguse, with an Olympic medal and 3:27 of his own, didn’t have a bad year, either.

This year, both have come out firing, with Nuguse setting a short-lived world record of 3:46 in the indoor mile and Hocker running very fast in the 3000 (7:23) and 5000 meters (12:57). They haven’t raced yet in 2025, but we’ll see a lot of it in the coming months — eight times at least in Grand Slam Track, then USAs, Worlds, and any Diamond Leagues they chose to enter. Entering this weekend, Nuguse holds the lifetime edge, 12-5, across all distances (that includes one cross country race) but Hocker has the decisive edge in big races. He’s 4-2 against Nuguse in Olympic, US, and NCAA finals on the track.

So, to reiterate: we’ve got two American middle-distance stars in the primes of their career, both of whom have run 3:27 and both of whom are Olympic medalists. Note to US track fans: This is not normal!  Twenty years from now, we’ll look back on this as one of the defining rivalries in the history of American distance running. Enjoy it while it lasts.

4) What can Hocker, Nuguse, and Kerr run for 800 meters?

Grand Slam Track’s pitch is that times aren’t important and it’s head-to-head racing that counts. But times are part of the sport. That’s what makes track track. I didn’t need to see the clock to know Cole Hocker’s Olympic win in Paris was an awesome race. But there’s no denying that seeing a 3:27.65 up there on the scoreboard enhanced the experience.

When it comes to this event group, I’m not particularly interested in the times in the 1500. Part of me wonders what Wanyonyi and Arop can run, but a much bigger part of me cares about who wins the race. Is Hocker still the man to beat? Could Wanyonyi shake things up and win the whole thing? And what strategy do the different athletes employ with no rabbit to lead them out?

It’s a bit different in the 800. I want to see Wanyonyi race Arop, and I want to see if Hoppel has closed the gap to them since Paris. But my suspicion is that Wanyonyi and Arop are so good — they are the second- and fourth-fastest humans ever in the event — that the 1500 guys won’t be able to touch them.

I’m supposed to care whether Hocker beats Nuguse or Kerr beats Hocker, because that determines who wins the prize money. But right now, I’m more interested to see what they can run in an all-out 800. That’s just how my brain is currently wired, and I’m sure I’m not alone (Editor’s note: Perhaps it could be rewired by GST?). Track fans love hypotheticals like this, which explains why the following messageboard thread is three pages long and counting right now: MB Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran 1:46 for 800 in 2020. What could he run in 2025?

Nuguse has only run one 800 as a pro. Kerr and Hocker have run a bunch, but never against the kind of field they will face in Grand Slam Track. We don’t always get to see the best 1500 runners test themselves in this event (world record holder Hicham El Guerrouj ran one 800 in his entire career). I want to see what happens when these guys let it rip.

I’d have to expect anyone who can run 3:27 for 1500 — which these three all can — is capable of running 1:43 for 800. Hocker thinks he could go even faster than that.

“Who knows?” Hocker told DyeStat. “I think I’m capable of a world-class 800-meter time, which now is 1:42.”

Maybe Hocker can run that, but I doubt it comes in Kingston. Hocker spent the winter working on his strength, and it paid off with pbs in the 3k and 5k. However, as a result, I wouldn’t expect him to be in shape to run his fastest 800 right now. His best opportunity will come at the final Slam in Los Angeles on June 28, when all of the guys will have some speed work under their belt and where they’ll get to run the 800 fresh (in Kingston, the 800 comes after the 1500).

5) Can Wanyonyi compete with the world’s best in the 1500?

I expect the winner of the 1500 will be one out of Hocker, Kerr, and Nuguse. They were all very good in 2024, and you could make a case for any of them to win in Kingston. The other 1500 guy, Neil Gourley, just earned silver at World Indoors, but was only 10th at the Olympics. He might be able to beat one of the big three this weekend, but it’s hard to see him beating all three.

Then there are the 800m guys. Could one of them win the 1500? Here’s how I’d rank them, from least to most likely.

4) Bryce Hoppel

Hoppel is a pure 800 runner. He barely ever runs the 400 or 1500 (where his pb is 3:42), and he’s not as good in the 800 as Wanyonyi or Arop. I don’t see any scenario where he wins the 1500 in Kingston.

3) Mohamed Attaoui

Attaoui, who was 5th in the Olympic 800 last year, actually has a strong 1500m background. He was the European U23 silver medalist in 2023, ran 3:36 last summer, and won the Spanish indoor 1500 title this winter. But he didn’t even make the 1500 final at Euro Indoors this year, losing out to Isaac Nader, Paul Anselmini, and Robert Farken in his prelim. Hocker, Kerr, and Nuguse are much better than those guys.

2) Marco Arop

Arop has run 3:38 for 1500 and 2:13 for 1000m last summer. He told Citius Mag that he thinks he could break 3:30 in the 1500 one day. I don’t think he has much of a chance here, but maybe he’s a factor if the race goes super tactical. If I had to pick Attaoui vs. Arop head-to-head in the 1500, I’d pick Attaoui. But if we’re talking about winning the race, we’re looking for a ceiling play. That’s Arop.

1) Emmanuel Wanyonyi

Wanyonyi in the 1500 is going to be one of the most exciting parts of the entire meet. In addition to being one of the all-time great talents in the 800 meters — in case you forgot, he ran 1:41 four times last year and won Olympic gold at the age of 20 — he has teased some serious upside in the 1500. As my boss always reminds me on the LetsRun Track Talk Podcast, in April 2024, Wanyonyi ran a world record of 3:54.56 in the road mile at adidas HQ, crushing Hobbs Kessler over the final 200 meters and even finding time to celebrate before the finish (the same Hobbs Kessler who would run 3:29 to finish 5th in the Olympics four months later). We should be careful about drawing conclusions from a road mile in April, but it was an impressive run.

Wanyonyi has continued to impress in 2025. On February 8, he won the 2k race at the Kenyan XC champs, defeating a who’s who of Kenyan 1500 stars — Reynold Cheruiyot, Timothy Cheruiyot, and Abel Kipsang. Then on March 15, he ran 3:38.1 (hand-timed) in Kapsabet in a race with about as many caveats as possible — 6,500 feet of elevation, dirt track, no competition, big last lap. Look how strong he looks over the final 400m:

Clearly, the guy has serious potential in the 1500.

On Monday, I called up Wanyonyi’s coach, Claudio Berardelli, to get his thoughts. He said he was just as intrigued as everyone else to find out how good Wanyonyi can be in the 1500.

“I’m very curious,” Berardelli said. “There is no doubt from what I’ve seen up to today that Wanyonyi has a good aerobic capacity. He enjoys doing longer stuff. And not just in the last months because of Grand Slam. Even in the previous seasons, Wanyonyi enjoys doing sometimes longer stuff, because I think he’s a hybrid athlete.”

Wanyonyi definitely trains more like an 800/1500 guy than a 400/800 guy. Berardelli said that depending on the period, Wanyonyi can run up to 120-130 km per week (75-80 miles) and can easily handle 20-25k runs with his marathoners. It’s not uncommon for him to run 8-9 kilometers worth of intervals on the track.

“Not now, but a few weeks ago, he could easily try to go and run maybe 20k with the marathon runners,” Berardelli said. “Sometimes we can have workouts, volumes on the track of 8-9k. I think not all the 800 runners, especially those who are speed-oriented, I don’t think they do those type of things.”

And Wanyonyi himself is ready for the challenge.

“He keeps talking about more the 1500 than the 800,” Berardelli said. “Of course because probably, the 800, tactically he understands more and of course he has the confidence. But he can’t wait to test himself in this 1500. Wanyonyi is a race beast. He wants to compete.”

I’m not calling a Wanyonyi upset. But I really want to know what happens if he’s still with the likes of Nuguse, Kerr, and Hocker with 200m to go on Saturday.

JG prediction

This whole event is going to be so much fun. We’ve got some of the absolute best in the world and a whole bunch of unanswered questions. We know Nuguse and Hocker were super fit indoors, but how sharp are they in early April? How will the races unfold tactically, particularly the 1500 with no rabbits or Jakob Ingebrigtsen to key off of? How will the 1500 guys handle the 800, and vice versa?

Of the 1500 crew, Nuguse is most comfortable leading and it would be in his interest to force a relatively fast pace to try to get rid of the 800 guys. At the same time, that would set things up nicely for Kerr or Hocker to blow by him on the last lap.

A prediction is tough given it’s the outdoor opener for all of the 1500 guys, but I’ll take Hocker FTW in the 1500 (I like his kick the best), Wanyonyi FTW in the 800, and Wanyonyi to claim the overall title.

Who do you think will win? (We had a mistake in the polls so we are re-doing the)

Talk about Grand Slam Track on the world-famous LetsRun.com fan forum / messageboard.

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More: Grand Slam Track’s Big Swing: What to Expect from Its Kingston Launch Michael Johnson‘s quest to reinvent track and field starts on Friday. Some BIG names like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, and Cole Hocker have signed up for the new series, but some of the biggest stars in the sprint world like Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Grant Holloway and even Jamaicans like Kishane Thompson and Shericka Jackson have given it a pass. Some even will be competing elsewhere this weekend. Will the format that focuses on doubling be a hit with the fans?

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