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1 week ago
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At last year’s Paris Olympics Cole Hocker proved over 1500m that he has one of the most devastating finishing kicks in track and field. Over 5,000m in Tokyo the American reinforced the message even more emphatically.
When the bell rang for the final lap Hocker was in 11th place, and close to 15 metres off the lead. But he quickly began picking his rivals off before timing his final surge to perfection to take gold in 12min 58.30sec, ahead of Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli, with Jimmy Gressier adding bronze to his 10,000m gold.
Afterwards Hocker wasted no time in claiming vindication after being controversially disqualified earlier in the week for “jostling” in the semi-finals of the 1500m. “I wanted to end the world championships on my terms,” he said. “I felt like I was robbed in the 1500m. I knew I had the opportunity today and that I had the legs to take this field. I had a lot of bodies ahead of me but I felt very strong; enough to pass them one by one.
“I felt like I raced perfectly. Every time I run the 5,000m I am pushed out of my comfort zone. I felt here that I was working every lap. I make music on my computer and play some guitar and piano. Now I want to eat a lot of Japanese food. I just want to eat and drink.”
There was further success for the US on the final night in Tokyo in the women’s 4x100m relay, as Sha’Carri Richardson led them home ahead of Jamaica in a raging storm that left the track swimming in surface water.
It meant that Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, the 100m and 200m champion, finished with a third title. “It’s crazy to be going home with three gold medals,” she said. “I added my name to the history books once again. I am right where I want to be.”
However, the great Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who has won 25 Olympic and world medals in a career stretching back to 2007, was more than happy to settle for silver in her final race.
“I have had an amazing career and today’s medal is the icing on the cake,” she said. “My son will be excited. Today is a full circle moment for me. I was a reserve at my first world championships in Osaka in 2007. I couldn’t have it any other way. I am grateful for the medals, the stadiums and the crowds where I have competed throughout my career. I have some plans and I want to focus on advocacy and support women and athletes. I want to continue to make an impact.”
Germany took bronze after Gina Lückenkemper held off Darryl Neita. “I wasn’t sure we had won a medal when I crossed the line because we were in an outside lane,” she said. “And then Daryll Neita from GB, she told me. She’s like: ‘Girl, you’ve got it.’”
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There was a third gold medal for the US in the men’s 4x100m, with Noah Lyles ending the World Athletics Championships with a bronze and two gold medals after leading the team home to an easy win. Lyles said: “We all know we are the fastest. We just had to get the baton from start to finish.”
Elsewhere Germany’s Leo Neuberger took gold in the decathlon, while the Australian Nicola Olyslagers won her first title with a clearance of 2.00m in the women’s high jump, which was affected by a 30-minute rain delay.
The final event to finish was the men’s discus, which was won by Sweden’s Daniel Ståhl after an even lengthier delay. His throw of 70.47m took him clear of Lithuania’s Mykolas Alekna and Alex Rose, who secured Samoa’s first ever global medal in athletics with a throw of 66.96m for bronze.
The completion of the discus marked the culmination of a hugely successful event which the World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, hailed as “a championship for the ages”.
