PARIS, France — The United States had a big night in track and field at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, winning two gold medals and five overall.
Cole Hocker pulled the upset of the track meet with a stunning victory in the 1,500 meters.
Hocker outraced favorites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to the finish line in an Olympic record 3 minutes 27.65 seconds. He pulled from fifth to first over the final 300 meters to beat his personal best by more than 3 seconds.
He beat Kerr by .14 seconds, while Ingebrigtsen, who set the pace through the first 1200 meters, ended up in fourth behind American Yared Nuguse.
Gabby Thomas blazed her way to an easy win in the 200 meters — and beat 100-meter winner Julien Alfred, who earned silver and now owns the only two medals in her country’s history. American sprinter Brittany Brown was third.
Thomas finished in 21.83 seconds to add a gold to the bronze she took home in the event from Tokyo three years ago. The 27-year-old Harvard graduate, who has a Masters in public health, took the lead for good at the curve and was never challenged in the final stretch. She grabbed her head with both hands after winning.