After injury ruined 1 dream, Cole Hocker finished season healthy and back on the starting line
Twelve months ago, Cole Hocker was coming off the best year by a college miler in more than a half-century. That’s right, going all the way back to Jim Ryun.
But what might have been a storybook 2022 — running to a World Championships medal on his home track — strayed from script. Instead, the Cathedral High School graduate was impaired by a foot injury and didn’t qualify for worlds in the 1,500 meters.
The former Oregon star was a spectator at Hayward Field, near his Eugene rental house.
More on Cathedral grad Cole Hocker:From obscurity to breakout, Cole Hocker tests himself on ultimate stage
“I’ve had very high highs already. And I’ve had very low lows,” he said. “I’ve seen how good the sport can treat you and how brutal it can be.
“Obviously, not happy it turned out like that. But I feel like a much more balanced athlete already.”
How has Hocker performed?
Hocker eventually returned to racing, with his season ending on Sunday in the 5th Avenue Mile in New York where he finished in fifth place in 3:51.
The 5th Avenue Mile wasn't the first road mile for Hocker, who ran 4:08 for second place in the Monumental Mile at Indianapolis on June 6, 2019.
This year seemed to be coming together for Hocker, as it did last year, when he won three NCAA titles and bettered the Olympic record in finishing sixth at Tokyo in 3:31.40. Afterward, he gave up college eligibility after two years at Oregon and became a pro runner.
He was a double champion at February’s indoor nationals, then finished fifth (0.32 behind second) in the mile May 28 in 3:50.97 at the Prefontaine Classic.
A few days later, he felt something in his foot. It kept getting worse.
Turned out to be a stress reaction in his fifth metatarsal, and he did not run for two weeks ahead of the USA Championships. He did cross-training but, after leading much of the way, faded down the stretch and was sixth in his 1,500-meter heat.
He was out. Dream became nightmare.
“Wasn’t myself at all,” Hocker conceded. “It was all extremely hard mentally after that.”
He is only three years removed from winning an 800/1,600 double at Indiana’s high school state meet. There will be more medal chances.
He is 21, and would be just 27 at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics — or a year younger than world champion Jake Wightman of Great Britain. In fact, there are global championships in 2023-24-25-27-28-29, all before Hocker is 30.
Trouble is, the same applies to Norway’s Olympic champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, less than a year older than Hocker.
Hocker's nationals run:Injury contributes to Cole Hocker's elimination from 1,500 at nationals
“It feels like there’s so much opportunity in the sport in the next decade, honestly,” Hocker said.
After nationals, Hocker said, he did not run for about six weeks — back to cross-training — and then ran for three weeks ahead of an abbreviated first European season. He ran four races at three distances in four countries.
He won a 5,000 meters in Finland (13:49.37), finished sixth in a 1,500 in Switzerland (3:38.45), second in a 1,500 in Italy (3:35.18) and second in an 800 in Hungary (1:47.59). The Padua, Italy, race was won by Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse in 3:33.26, fastest by an American this year.
Hocker did not stick with Nuguse but felt “back to my old self” as the race unfolded.
“I didn’t have the confidence to go with the pacesetter,” Hocker said. “Looking back on it, I could have.”
He did not want to end 2022 on a downer and aimed at goals closer than the 2023 indoor season. He said pain in his foot vanished and expressed relief the injury was minor.
What's next for the Indiana native
He said he will remain in Eugene and be coached by Ben Thomas, his college coach, who was fired as part of a shakeup at Oregon.
Hocker said he has spoken to new Oregon coach Jerry Schumacher, also the coach of the pro Bowerman Track Club relocating from Portland to Eugene, and that Schumacher determines access to university facilities. Hocker is under contract to Nike, longtime benefactor of the Oregon Ducks.
Before trying for the next World Championships — set for August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary — Hocker suggested he might make another run at the American record (3:49.89) in the indoor mile. And he did not rule out trying to qualify for cross-country worlds, set for Feb. 18 at Bathurst, Australia.
He has been away from actual running so much this year, he said, he plans to rest no more than two or three weeks before beginning buildup to Budapest.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Cole Hocker: Overcomes injury to end season back on the starting line
