Olympian practice in Boca Grande takes gold in Paris
Gold medalist Cole Hocker captured in viral video
On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Team USA’s Cole Hocker won a gold medal in the men’s 1,500-meter race at the Paris Olympics and broke an Olympic record. In the wake of the win, an inspirational video from 2022 of Hocker training in Boca Grande has been circulating on island.
Hocker’s time in Boca Grande was largely unnoticed, but he has been a regular guest with a group of friends, including videographer Isaac Ross.
“Early in August 2022, a couple of us buddies flew in,” Ross said.
The video was posted in August 2022 by Ross, and shows Hocker, speeding past the Community Center, running on the GICIA bike path, even grapevining in front of the Range Light. The video ends with a mention of his status as an official Nike athlete.
The idea to do the video was not planned. Hocker was not easy to catch either.
Photo submitted
“We were just there and he was training,” Ross said. “I was just on a golf cart putting pedal to the metal.”
Isaac Ross is based in Indianapolis and owns Isaac Ross Videography. He primarily does wedding and corporate work.
In his surprise win on Tuesday, Hocker broke the Olympic record of 3:28:32 set at the Tokyo Olympics with a time of 3:27:65. He is only the fourth American to win gold in the 1,500-meter race.
This is the last week of the Paris Olympics, and the Closing Ceremony is on Sunday, Aug. 11.
A link to the video is here. The videographer’s portfolio is at isaacrossvideo.com
