TOKYO, Japan — Olympic champion Cole Hocker won’t add a World Championships gold medal to his collection.
The 24-year-old from Indianapolis was disqualified for jostling other runners during a semifinal of the 1,500 meters Monday night in the World Championships at Tokyo.
Six runners from each of two semifinals advanced to Wednesday’s final. USA Track & Field’s appeal of the DQ was denied.
In the second semifinal, Kenya’s Reynold Cheruiyot finished first in 3:36.64, followed by Hocker in 3:36.67.
Hocker was boxed in on the rail during the homestretch, squeezing between Germany’s Robert Farken and the Netherlands’ Stefan Nillessen in a desperate bid to qualify. Farken finished ninth but was advanced to the final for having been impeded.
The disqualification cited rule TR17.1.2(J), in