Marty Gordon
Blacksburg’s adopted son, Cole Hocker, is an Olympic champion.
This past week, he took the 1500-meter gold. Just four years ago, he finished sixth, but at the 2024 Olympic Trials he took the win and set a personal record, setting the stage for this year’s race.
His win set a new Olympic and U.S. record with a 3:27.65 run.
Hocker, who was a NCAA champ at the University of Oregon, moved to Blacksburg in November to continue training under his former college coach, Ben Thomas, who rejoined the Virginia Tech staff.
Success is no stranger to Hocker as he won multiple national titles while at Oregon. In 2021, he announced he would forgo his final year of eligibility to run professionally. But he didn’t expect that he would find a new home in southwest Virginia.
Matter of fact, Hocker bought a home in the area and packed everything he owned to join Thomas. Another former Oregon Duck, Cooper Teare, joined the two in Blacksburg.
The group formed “Team Sova,” a group that includes five other athletes that are training under Thomas, who returned to his alma mater last year as the head track and field coach for the Hokies.
Thomas spent 2018-22 as an associate head coach at the University of Oregon, leading its cross country and distance programs, and is a three-time USTFCCCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, having most recently won back-to-back indoor honors for the Ducks’ incredible success during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He earned his first national award during his time at Virginia Tech following the 2017 season, becoming the first ACC assistant to ever win the award. Thomas is also a 10-time USTFCCCA Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, including four selections at Oregon.
Hocker and Shaw have completed a dream of both as the gold medal is coming back to our area.
