Cole Hocker ended his first pro track and field season by finishing fifth Sunday in the 5th Avenue Mile.
Great Britain’s Jake Wightman, a surprise 1,500-meter world champion, repeated as winner in New York with a time of 3 minutes, 49.6 seconds.
Jake Heyward, also of Britain, was second in 3:49.9. Americans Sam Prakel (3:50.4) and Eric Holt (3:50.7) were third and fourth ahead of Hocker (3:50.7).
More on Cole Hocker:From obscurity to an Olympic stage
Hocker, a Cathedral High School graduate, ended 2021 by finishing sixth in the 1,500 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. After two years at Oregon, he gave up college eligibility and signed a Nike contract. He won two titles at February’s indoor nationals but developed a foot injury and did not qualify for the World Championships, held on his home Oregon track.
Hocker, 21, would be just 27 at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics — or a year younger Wightman. There are global championships in 2023-24-25-27-28-29, all within Hocker’s peak years.
“It feels like there’s so much opportunity in the sport in the next decade, honestly,” he told IndyStar in a pre-race interview.
A British miler, Laura Muir, also won the women’s race. The 29-year-old Scot bolted to a big lead at mid-race and set a course record of 4:14.8. Previous record was 4:16.1 by Jenny Simpson, an eight-time winner of this race.
Muir won a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters at worlds and was silver medalist at the 2021 Olympics.
Americans Nikki Hiltz (4:17.4) and Eleanor Fulton (4:18.0) finished second and third.
There were pre-race ceremonies in memory of those lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack against the World Trade Center.
Elsewhere in track and field, Kara Winger finished with a flourish.
The four-time Olympian from Purdue won the Diamond League final in the women’s javelin Thursday at Zurich, reaching 213 feet, 2 inches on her fifth attempt.
More on Kara Winger:‘Your dream can come true’
The 36-year-old from Vancouver, Wash., had announced this season would her last, and she said afterward she is sticking to that.
“I just wanted to have a good time and it turned out to be the best season of my life,” she said. “I know it was absolutely everything and I am so grateful for what I did because we worked really hard for this and I just cannot believe it. It was magic.”
Winger’s victory came six days after she set an American record of 223-5 in winning by 15 feet at Brussels, Belgium. She moved to 12th on the all-time world list. She won a silver medal July 22 in the World Championships, climbing from fifth to second on her final attempt.
She also won at nationals – 14 years after her first such victory – and in the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.