TOKYO, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- American Cole Hocker stormed to victory in the men's 5,000 meters final at the World Athletics Championships on Sunday.
The 24-year-old, the 1,500m gold medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics, clocked 12 minutes 58.30 seconds to claim his first title from the world championships.
Hocked was disqualified from the 1,500m final and said he was confident ahead of the competition.
"I had a lot of bodies ahead of me but I felt very strong, enough to pass them one by one," he said. "I felt like I raced perfectly today. The 5,000m is a whole different challenge. "
"Every time I run the 5,000m I am pushed out of my comfort zone. The 1,500m is still my specialty but for the next world championships I want to run the 5k again. My goal was to win both but I will settle for one."
Belgium's Isaac Kimeli followed close behind in 12:58.78 while France's Jimmy Gressier clinched bronze in 12:59.33 to add to his 10,000m title.
"I'm very happy to win a second medal for France," Gressier said. "I wanted to get the double gold medals but I am very proud. I ended my season with a gold medal in the Diamond League in Zurich, a gold medal and a third place here in this 5,000m. My season is super successful. And now I'm a little bit closer to my hero Zinedine Zidane, even if it's still in my sport and not football." ■
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