Cole Hocker’s father, Kyle, screamed an explicit reaction after his son dramatically won the 1,500 meters at the Olympics.
Hocker made headlines on Tuesday after surprising the favorites to win the event. At the end of the race, Hocker passed world champion Josh Kerr of Great Britain and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten to break the Olympic record with a time of 3:27.65.
Like the rest of the world, Hocker’s father was shocked by his son’s final attempt to steal the race from his competitors, while the door seemed to be closing in his face.
In a video that went viral and has been viewed more than 700,000 times on X, Kyle is seen screaming “What the f***” as Cole approaches the finish line.
He then jumps up and down with the rest of the crowd to celebrate.
Cole Hocker’s father went viral for his X-rated reaction to the runner’s Olympic victory
Kerr took silver, while Hocker’s American teammate Yared Naguse secured a second podium finish for the Americans.
While the race was billed as a showdown between Kerr and the confident and outspoken Ingebrigsten, Hocker played spoilsport by becoming the fourth American to win an Olympic gold medal in the 1,500 meters.
“With 100 meters to go, I knew I had enough,” Hocker said. “I didn’t watch the race replay or anything, but I saw Jakob, I feel like he was thinking about Kerr and starting to drift away, and I thought I should take advantage of that and try to get that one in, which I’ve done a few times in my career.
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At the end of the race, Hocker passed Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigsten for the win
Kerr won the silver, while Hocker’s American teammate Yared Naguse secured the bronze medal
“He’s a smart enough racer to stop that straight away, so I had to reassess it. It was special to be able to attack not once, but twice.”
Ingebrigtsen took an early lead and held it through the first 1,200 meters. From there, Hocker – who was in fourth place with just 300 meters to go – put his foot on the gas pedal and took his steps toward Olympic glory.
‘[Kerr and Ingebrigtsen] ‘I’ve had all the extra pressure and all the extra noise,’ Hocker added. ‘I think that’s part of this job, blocking out that noise, and it gets harder and harder as you get better, and I’m sure that will change after today. … I’ve been able to fly under the radar for this game, but I’m sure I won’t do that anymore.’
