Cole Hocker produced a stunning final lap to win the 5,000m gold at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, finishing in 12min 58.30sec. The American, who was in 11th place and 15 metres off the lead at the bell, surged past his rivals to beat Belgium’s Isaac Kimeli and France’s Jimmy Gressier.
Hocker said the victory was vindication after his controversial disqualification for “jostling” in the 1500m semi‑finals. “I felt like I was robbed in the 1500m,” he said. “I knew I had the legs to take this field.” The 24-year-old, who also plays guitar and piano, added that he wanted to end the championships on his terms.
There was further success for the USA on the final night, with Sha’Carri Richardson anchoring the women’s 4x100m relay team to gold ahead of Jamaica in a rainstorm. Melissa Jefferson‑Wooden, the 100m and 200m champion, collected her third title, while the retiring Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce settled for silver in her final race.
In the men’s 4x100m, Noah Lyles led the USA to an easy win, ending his championships with a bronze and two gold medals. Elsewhere, Germany’s Leo Neugebauer took decathlon gold, Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers won the high jump with 2.00m, and Sweden’s Daniel Ståhl claimed discus gold with 70.47m.
The World Athletics president, Sebastian Coe, hailed the event as “a championship for the ages”.
