Six days after being disqualified from the semifinals in his specialist event, the Olympic 1500m champion struck gold in the 5000m on the last day of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025.
The US runner produced a devastating kick and crossed the line at full speed and bouncing hair in 12:58.30 to take gold ahead of Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli (12:58.78) and 10,000m winner Jimmy Gressier (12:59.33).
His win means the US runner has now qualified for two events at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship – the 1500m from his Olympic win and 5000m from his win here. He also becomes just the second US man to win this title after Bernard Lagat, who won in 2007 when the World Championships was last held in Japan.
As the gun went off, Hocker and double Olympic medallist Grant Fisher immediately hit the front, with their teammate Nico Young, Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet and Biniam Mehary, Australia’s Ky Robinson and Kimeli close behind. Hocker only led for the first 500m, then sat in the pack for most of the way.
In a highly entertaining race, the lead changed hands frequently as Young took turns with Fisher in the first half. Gebrhiwet moved up through the field and took a brief turn at the front with Kimeli, Gressier, Hocker, Biniam Mehary and Kenya’s Matthew Kipsang lined up behind.
Gebrhiwet led the field through the halfway mark in 6:32.76, then Fisher regained the lead and passed through 3000m in 7:56.22 ahead of Gebrhiwet and Mehary following close behind.
Defending champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who hadn’t raced outdoors at all before travelling to Tokyo, moved to the front with less than 2000m to go, a move that reshuffled the leading pack with Kipsang and Gebrhiwet going with him.
Mehary hit the front with one lap to go with Kimeli and Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew close behind. Gressier moved into third with 200m to go while Hocker was in fifth.
Kimeli entered the home straight with a slight lead over Hocker, but the US runner kicked hard down the home straight to win in 12:58.30. Kimeli claimed silver in a season’s best of 12:58.78 while Gressier earned bronze in 12:59.33 to leave Tokyo with two medals.
Ingebrigtsen finished 10th while Gebrhiwet, competing at his 10th global championships on the track, placed 13th.
Michelle Katami for World Athletics
AloJapan.com