Notre Dame graduate stuns world to win Olympic bronze in men's 1500-meters

The men's 1500-meter run might have been the most excited event of the Olympics and a former Notre Dame star took home bronze

Aug 4, 2024; Paris, FRANCE; Yared Nuguse (USA) in the men's 1500m semifinals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As we're in the final week of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, one of the most exciting events of them will go down as the men's 1500-meter final in track and field.

The race was hyped as the latest showdown between rivals Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) and Josh Kerr (Great Britian) who were the favorites for gold.

It will be remembered for exceeding the hype and the United States walking away with gold and bronze medals in stunning fashion.

Cole Hocker of the United States used a late kick over the final 100 meters to stun the world and take gold from the two favorites. Josh Kerr held on for the silver medal by the slimmest of margins as former Notre Dame student-athlete Yared Nuguse finished third for the bronze.

The final 125-meters of the race were pure insanity and worth watching if you missed it:

MUST WATCH: COLE HOCKER WINS OLYMPIC GOLD IN THE MEN’S 1500 METERS. EPIC RACE FINISH. pic.twitter.com/uSpVmPH4D1

— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) August 6, 2024

This was one of the most-hyped events in the track and field competition these games and it easily exceeded those expectations.

And did so with two Americans taking home medals when they were supposed to be good enough to only battle for third.

Official times:
1. Cole Hocker, USA: 3:27.65
2. Josh Kerr, GB: 3:27.79
3. Yared Nuguse, USA: 3:27.80
4. Jakob Ingebrigtsen: 3:28.24

Nuguse, the Notre Dame track star

Seeing as he just won a bronze medal it probably won't come as a surprise that Nuguse was a star track athlete at Notre Dame.

He set a then NCAA record in the 1500-meter run back in 2021 with a time of 3:34:68 but would finish second in the NCAA championships, falling only to none other than Cole Hocker, then of Oregon.

Naguse was the anchor leg of Notre Dame's national championship winning distance medley relay team in 2019 while also winning the individual national championship in the 1500-meter run that year.

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