When Cole Hocker—the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 1500 meters—went around Grant Fisher with 600 meters remaining in the 3,000 meters at the Millrose Games, it was hard to see how Fisher could retake the lead.
After all, Hocker is famous for his closing speed—he rode his furious kick past two favorites at the Olympics in the final 200 meters to steal gold.
mdash;the reigning Olympic gold medalist in the 1500 meters—went around.
Fisher, who is no slouch in the speed department and has two Olympic bronze medals as proof, stuck on Hocker’s back until the final turn. With just meters remaining, Fisher pulled ahead.
He ran 7:22.91 for 3,000 meters, breaking the mark set by Lamecha Girma (7:23.81) of Ethiopia in 2023 by nearly a second.
Hocker, too, was under the previous world record, runing 7:23.14. Fisher ran his last lap in 27.5 seconds; Hocker’s was 27.9.
Sarah Lorge Butler.
I’m kind of in shock,” Fisher said after the race. “I didn’t think we would go that quick. I thought we might be able to challenge the American record and I thought I was in shape for that.”
Fisher said he was happy that Hocker took the lead with three laps to go. “I was surprised that he took it that early,” Fisher said. “I tried to go around him on the back stretch and I couldn’t get him, and so I had to kind of reset for a second and just throw everything in the last 50.”
Hocker was nearly in tears as he spoke to reporters after the race—seemingly from shock as much as anything else.
“I just had this overwhelming sense of confidence in the race and looking long term, I think, I think that’s gonna be a keystone race in my career,” he said. “Coming back from the Olympics, being introduced this season for the first time as a gold medalist, there’s a lot a lot of pressure on my shoulders, at least that I internalized, and I mean it takes someone of that caliber, a double Olympic medalist just last year as well, I think, to beat me.”
Hocker said he hates to lose, but he had praise for Fisher: “Incredible race by Grant,” he said.
This Guy ‘Just Felt Like Running’ Boston is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
