Once Kerr had eased past the Norwegian on the final straight it seemed the Briton was on course to add gold to the bronze he took in Tokyo but he did not reckon with Hocker, who found a path up the inside to take one of the most unexpected golds in the history of the storied event.
His winning time of 3:27.65s was an Olympic record and a massive personal best by more than three seconds. Kerr posted a national record 3:27.79s and Yared Nuguse took bronze for the US in another huge personal best of 3:27.80s.
“I am just so proud of myself to find a way to win,” Hocker told the BBC. “I put myself in the position and my body took me over the line.”
The time catapulted Hocker to be the seventh-fastest man in history and Kerr the eighth, and even if the hi-tech shoes and track make historical time comparisons difficult, it was still a gripping race.
Great race
World athletics chief Sebastian Coe, still the only double 1,500m Olympic champion, said last week he was expecting a “race for the ages” and, if it was not the outcome he expected, he certainly got one, as seven of the first nine finalists set personal bests.
The race had been billed as a showdown between Ingebrigtsen and Kerr, who have been swapping barbs for a year, and the Norwegian set a scorching pace from the start to lead coming into the last 200.
Briton Kerr, just as he did in last year’s world championships, surged past him as they hit the final straight, however, and looked set for victory, only for Hocker to find a way through.
“I put a performance out there today which I was extremely proud of. I focused on my controllables, I ran the best and the fastest tactical 1,500m I have ever done in my life,” Kerr said.
Ingebrigtsen finished fourth in a time faster than his Olympic record set in Tokyo, but the double world champion over 5,000m has another shot at a medal as he goes in the heats over that distance on Wednesday morning.
“It didn’t go according to plan but I felt very strong in the first couple of laps and that’s why I had difficulty telling the pace because it was quite fast,” he said.
“It was difficult to slow down and kind of reduce myself a little bit. I was starting to get a little bit of gap so kept on pushing but it was just 100m too long today.
“The guys finishing in front of me did a great race. You can’t really tell when you’re hitting the wall when you hit it. It was just a little bit too early today.”