The race was billed as a bar brawl between the two baddest 1,500-meter runners in the world.
Nobody figured the little-known American guy would sneak up on both of them, steal the show and take the Olympic gold medal with him.
Cole Hocker threw a jolt into track Tuesday night, first catching up to — then slipping his way past — fierce rivals Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to pull the upset of the Games with an unexpected victory in a much-hyped showdown that wasn’t supposed to involve him.
Hocker bettered his personal best by nearly 3 seconds to win in an Olympic-record 3 minutes, 27.65 seconds.
“If you’ve been following my season, you knew I was capable of it,” Hocker said. “But still, things had to go my way today.”
Taking advantage of a blistering early pace set by Ingebrigtsen, the 23-year-old product of University of Oregon pulled from fifth, to third, then finally to first, over the final 300 meters to pass the gassed-out favorites.
