By Chris Chavez
September 4, 2024
1500m Olympic champion Cole Hocker and Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse have signed on as Racers ahead of the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track in 2025. They will primarily compete in the ‘short distance’ category, and will race the 800m and 1500m at each Slam.
Here’s what you need to know:
– Hocker and Nuguse join 2023 1500m world champion Josh Kerr as the first distance runners to sign onto Michael Johnson’s professional track league. This means the entire 2024 Olympic podium will race frequently in 2025 over 800m and 1500m.
– Hocker is coming off a historic 3:27.65 victory to set an Olympic record and personal best by almost three seconds, and became just the fourth American man to win the 1500m at the Games. After Matthew Centrowitz ended a 108-year drought for gold by an American man, the United States has now won two of the last three Olympic 1500m titles.
– The 23-year-old put together one of the best 2024 campaigns of any athlete on the planet, which included improving his strength with a 12:58.82 personal best for 5000m in May before going on to win the U.S. Olympic Trials in a U.S. Championship record 3:30.59.
– Nuguse ran a personal best of 3:27.80 to finish third in Paris. It marked the first time since 1912 that two Americans made the Olympic podium in the 1500m.
– Nuguse has run just one career 800m race as a professional, clocking a 1:46.30 at the On Track Nights meet in Los Angeles in May 2023.
What they had to say
Grand Slam Track Commissioner Michael Johnson (via press release):
“As we all saw this summer, the metric mile is back. Everyone watching the 1500m final in Paris was blown away by the drama of that race, with Cole and Yared ultimately taking home Gold and Bronze. Adding both of them to our stable of Racers, including Silver-medalist Josh Kerr, gives us the incredibly exciting confirmation of seeing that Olympic final again four times in 2025. Grand Slam Track is committed to bringing fans around the world the most exciting roster of Racers possible and finding out who truly is this fastest. With Yared and Cole joining Josh, we’re delivering on that promise, and these three will form the foundations of an incredibly competitive rivalry for dominance across our four Slams.”
Olympic champion Cole Hocker (via press release):
“It’s truly an honor for me to sign with Grand Slam Track and I’m unbelievably excited for the future of this league. To have someone like Michael Johnson leading the way for our sport is amazing and it’s clear the sky's the limit for GST. The opportunity to race against the fastest men in the world, like Yared and Josh, four times a year at our Slams, gives us as racers the chance to continue to challenge ourselves, and entertain fans across the globe. I’m ecstatic to be a part of this league and can’t wait to race at the Slams.”
Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse (via press release):
“Joining Grand Slam Track was an easy decision for me because it does so much for our sport and the athletes. This represents a huge investment in taking our sport to the next level and allowing millions of track fans to see us race on a far more regular basis. Additionally, it’s much more fun for the athletes to be racing more often against consistently good competition. Coming off the back of Paris, I can’t wait to continue to push myself and clash with Cole, Josh and the other Racers who will join the league.”
Hocker Head-to-Head vs. Kerr
– Hocker’s win at the Olympics was his first victory on the track over Kerr. Kerr holds a 5-to-1 head-to-head advantage over Hocker. In 2024, they have raced three times over three different distances.
– At the Millrose Games, Kerr broke the indoor two-mile world record in 8:00.67 while Hocker finished third in 8:05.70 (No. 2 on the U.S. all-time list behind Grant Fisher’s 8:03.62 in the same race).
– May’s Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic was billed as a showdown between Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen after the two traded barbs in the media in the 10 months leading into the race. Kerr won the race in 3:45.34. Hocker finished seventh in that race in 3:48.95.
– After Hocker’s win over Kerr at the Olympics, they now sit at No. 7 and No. 8 on the all-time 1500m list. Ingebrigtsen (3:26.73 at No. 4) is the only active 1500m runner with a faster personal best.
– If Hocker and Kerr contest the 800m/1500m Slam category, Kerr holds a slightly faster 800m personal best 1:45.35 to 1:45.63. They have never raced an 800m race head-to-head.
Nuguse Head-To-Head vs. Kerr
– Nuguse and Kerr have raced each other six times in their career. Kerr and Nuguse are 2–2 head-to-head over 1500m. Kerr is 1–0 over the mile and 1–0 over the 3000m.
Nuguse Head To-Head vs. Hocker
– Nuguse and Hocker have raced 13 times on the track dating back to their NCAA days. Hocker closed in 52.2 seconds to beat Nuguse at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships
– Nuguse is 9–4 against Hocker in his career. Hocker is 2–1 against Nuguse in 2024 and beat him in the U.S. Olympic Trials and Olympic final.
What’s next?
– With the Olympic 1500m podium signed, one final Racer spot is still to be determined for the 2025 season. CITIUS MAG has made the case for and against certain athletes filling that spot.
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Chris Chavez
Chris Chavez launched CITIUS MAG in 2016 as a passion project while working full-time for Sports Illustrated. He covered the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and grew his humble blog into a multi-pronged media company. He completed all six World Marathon Majors and is an aspiring sub-five-minute miler.
