USA Celebrates Hocker and Thomas’ Gold Medals
SAINT-DENIS, France — The end of a race was surprising. The other was pure dominance.
American Cole Hawker pulled off an Olympic track meet upset on Tuesday night, edging out favorites Jacob Inbergstein and Josh Kerr for gold in the 1,500 meters.
A short time later, American Gabby Thomas dominated the women’s 200 meters, finishing in 21.83 seconds to add gold to the bronze medal she won in the event held in Tokyo three years ago.
Hawker won the 1,500 meters in an Olympic record time of 3 minutes 27.65 seconds, and went from fifth to first in the final 300 meters to beat his personal best by more than 3 seconds.
He beat Kerr by .14 seconds, while Ingebrigtsson, who set the pace first in the 1,200 meters, finished fourth, faster than his Olympic record in Tokyo.
American Yard Nogs also turned in a personal best to win the bronze medal.
“It might be annoying for a lot of people, but if you’ve been following my season, you know I’m worth it,” Hawker said. “But still, things had to go my way today.”
It was the first American win in the metric mile since Matt Centrowitz won gold in 2016. It is the first time since the Stockholm Games in 1912 that Americans have placed two men on the 1,500-meter podium.
The race was billed as a showdown between Ingebrigtsson and Kerr, with the Norwegian setting a hot pace as he led coming into the final 200.
In this, Ingebrigtsson quickly moved to the front and ran there for the first 3½ laps, while Kerr traded between second and third, preparing for his typical wind-up and potential slingshot to pass Ingebrigtsson in the closing stretch. shot, just like he did last year.
As he played, Hawker, 5 feet 9½ and more than 3½ inches shorter than the top two contenders, almost looked like he was trying to photobomb the end of the race.
He stepped out once inside, only to be stopped by Ingebergztsson from the move. He then tried again with about 50 meters to go, passed them both and crossed the line with his arms outstretched and an expression of disbelief on his face and heaving his chest to celebrate the win. Hardly anyone saw the bar tapping coming.
“I thought it would be fast,” Hawker said. “I thought Ingbergtsson would want to take it out on guys like me. But I knew I hadn’t been tested at that level yet, and I knew I was capable of being as strong as those guys out there. “
Hocker, a 23-year-old out of the University of Oregon, was listed at as much as a 30-1 long shot for this race.
In the women’s 200, Thomas got off to a fast start, took the lead for good at the curve and was never challenged in the final stretch.
The 27-year-old Harvard graduate, who has a master’s in public health, held her head in both hands after winning.
Thomas beat 100m champion Julian Alfred by 0.25 seconds and American Brittany Brown took bronze.
Thomas entered as the favourite, especially after world champion Sherika Jackson of Jamaica was ruled out with an injury.
Of the three sprints so far on the purple track at the Stade de France, Americans have won two gold medals: Thomas followed Noah Lyles to the top step of the podium in the men’s 100;
How Vinesh Phogat won the Olympic medal: Fought with heart, thought with head
In the background, none of Vinesh Phogat’s opponents stood a chance at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris. Certainly, he was among the best wrestlers, world and Olympic champions, all because of what drives Olympic athletes to succeed.
But Vinesh was an unstoppable force driven by a higher power: she was fighting for a greater cause, not just a desire for sporting success. For his own reputation, for his fellow wrestlers who managed the system with him, for all the players who had faced similar situations.
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Nevertheless, her achievements on Tuesday were remarkable: in a span of seven hours, she defeated the reigning Olympic and world champion, two-time European Games medalist and Pan American Games champion, where no Indian had done so before. The female wrestler did not go. : Olympic final, and a sure medal.
Timeline: The story of 18 months in the life of Vinesh Phogat, one of India’s most extraordinary athletes
As incredible as those wins were, how he did it. He had three carefully crafted strategies for his three opponents, starting with a stunning win over Yui Susaki – unbeaten in his international career – through a defensive masterclass. Vinesh went into the punch, seeing it as the finale. Even if she lost to Susaki via the repechage system, she would still have a shot at bronze, but Vinesh was there for the gold.
Walking onto the mat, she looked fine – there were no sunken eyes like most wrestlers who undergo severe weight loss the day before a competition. It was clear that Vinesh had managed her weight well – she was leaving nothing to chance.
Susaki has the strongest grip in her division – she practices speed skating and bouldering to strengthen her grip. But even this was not enough to make a move on Vinesh. Susaki went to take off Vinesh’s right leg, the same leg that had been operated on last year, but Vinesh was ready. She was in the zone, saw it coming and stepped forward with her left leg to build momentum and shift her weight to counter the takedown. It was a brilliant display of defence, not what you’d normally expect to see from a traditionally all-out attacking Vanish. Sousaki had never been silent for so long.
Even Sakshi Malik, the only other Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal, was pleasantly surprised by Vinesh’s defensive style. “It wasn’t her usual style, Vinesh is usually an attacking wrestler,” Sakshi told ESPN after the bout. “But Susaki is a very smart and experienced opponent so Vinesh turned it around today. She was very smart in how she fought against Susaki. She didn’t fake any attacks, so that doesn’t happen.” That he would make a mistake and give Susaki an unusual strategy.”
With 19 seconds left, Vinesh shifted gears and went on the offensive. Sousaki, frantic, continued to circle the mat. As she staggered back and was off balance, Vinesh saw the moment. Twelve seconds left.
He drops Sousaki to the mat and locks him in a backhold to complete the takedown. Vinesh kept his grip on the clock and scripted one of the biggest upsets in Olympic wrestling history.
The most surprising aspect was not the takedown in the last 12 seconds, but the manner in which Vinesh defended against Susaki for the last five minutes and 48 seconds. Susaki isn’t someone you can write off like that – she didn’t concede a single point at the Tokyo Olympics to win gold.
It was all part of Vinesh’s master plan…he timed it perfectly to explode in the last few seconds. At the end, Susaki’s shocked face, the picture of disbelief, was a stark contrast to the joy on Vinesh’s face.
Was it dangerous? It was certain. But if anyone could pull it off, it was Vinesh. “Vineesh knew what she was doing. She beat Yuki Iri at the 2018 Asian Games to become the first Indian woman wrestler to win a gold medal in the Asian Games. She showed Indian wrestlers that it is possible,” Anita said. She says Shevran, a Commonwealth Games gold medalist and the only woman to contest for the post of Wrestling Federation of India president last December.
