INDIANAPOLIS -- Bettering American indoor records in the 1500 and mile*, Cole Hocker (Portland, OR/USATF Oregon) earned recognition as the sixth USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2026.
The reigning world champion at 5000 meters and Olympic champion at 1500 meters, Hocker ran away from a high-powered field at the Asics Sound Invite at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, clocking 3:45.94 to take more than a half second off the ratified American record. His en route 1500 time of 3:30.80 clipped more than a second off the record.
Hocker covered the first quarter mile in 56.77 and hit the half-mile mark in 1:54.24. Going by three-quarters of a mile in 2:51.12, he started to pull away from the field with a 54.82 final quarter mile to win by more than four seconds. It was the second fastest indoor mile ever, and his 1500 was the third fastest indoor performance in world history.
Other top performances from last week:
Weini Kelati bettered her own American record in the women's half marathon with a 66:04 to place second at Barcelona.
Khaleb McRae bettered the ratified world record in the men's 400 and tied the American record with a 44.52 at Arkansas.
Elle St. Pierre bettered the American women's indoor record in the 1500 en route to her mile win at Boston, clocking 3:59.33. She won the mile in 4:17.83, the fourth fastest performance ever by an American.
Cooper Lutkenhaus bettered the world and American U20 indoor records in the men's 800 with a 1:44.03 at the Asics Sound Invite. His time also moved him to No. 2 on the all-time U.S. indoor performer list.
* – all American records are subject to verification by the USATF Records Committee.
Now in its 25th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2026 Winners: January 15, Jonathan Simms; January 22, Michelle Rohl; January 29, Josh Hoey; February 5, Roisin Willis; February 12, Jordan Geist; February 19, Cole Hocker.
We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.
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Photo credit Kevin Morris