Cole Hocker (right) crossing the line in his come-from-behind win at last year’s Olympics, one of the Games’ most vivid moments. Read more Petr David Josek / AP

When Cole Hocker stepped to the starting line for the men‘s 1,500-meter final at last summer’s Olympics, he was well-known in the track world.

He’d won silver in the world indoor championships a few months earlier, finished sixth at the 2021 Games, and won the NCAA title at Oregon just before that.

But the sorts of people who only watch track and field during the Olympics — which is to say, a lot of people — might not have heard of him yet.

Three minutes and 27.65 seconds later, that changed forever.

Hocker mounted a comeback for the ages in the final lap, overtaking Josh Kerr, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and the trash-talking rivalry between them that had dominated the buildup.

Just like that, the Indianapolis native won the gold medal and was launched on the kind of rocket ride to stardom that the Olympics do like nothing else.

“The last 200 [meters] was as close to an out-of-body experience that I’ve ever had,” Hocker told The Inquirer as he prepared to come to Philadelphia for this weekend’s Grand Slam Track meet at Franklin Field.

“Coming around the last turn, my ears hit their limit, it was so loud,” he said. “My ears were ringing within the race, and I was aware of that, which is pretty incredible to be able to understand what’s happening in such an intense moment.

And I felt like that definitely helped fuel me.”

Thanks to that triumph, the 23-year-old Hocker will be one of the most familiar names in town instead of another name outside the sprinters’ spotlight. It’s a mantle he’s happy to embrace.

“Now I have an interest to see how far can I take this sport,” he said.

“This was at the end of the road map for me, where I thought this might be possible, and then all of a sudden in my third year being a professional, I’ve done it.

So I feel more motivated than I’ve ever felt to race and to win.”

Embracing his new life as a star

Not everything since the Olympics has been perfect.

As often happens to first-time champions, a flood of endorsement opportunities ensues, but the life-changing cash comes with just as many demands on your time.

Navigating that is its own challenge, and it can‘t be overcome just by running fast.

“Which sounds funny, because it was a great thing and a lifelong goal,” he said.

“But, yeah, it was something that I had to learn how to [deal with].

Now I’m the Olympic champion, like, just having that in my subconscious and thinking about that changes the way I see myself.

And I think part of that is because I know it changes the way that people see me.”

The broader public interest has fallen some, as happens in the years between Olympics.

Hocker noted that he spends “a lot of time with my agent still proving my value to a lot of brands.”

But there’s still enough out there that he’s happy with the balance he has struck.

“I’m sure that I’m not getting the same deals as Noah Lyles, even though we both won gold in Paris,” Hocker said with some humor, knowing that Lyles owns the 100-meter title and a big personality.

 “But I think the 1,500 falls in a good spot as far as track events.

I’ve heard from people that work in that space that the 100 meters, the 1,500 meters, and the marathon are where the money first hits.”

Why would Madison Avenue pass over the 400- and 800-meter distances? Well, it doesn‘t always — as Grand Slam’s biggest name, 400-meter hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, can prove. But tell a marketer that the 1,500 is world track’s closest thing to the mile run, and that gets attention.

“I grew up thinking the mile and the 1,500 was the best event in the world, and I know there’s a lot of people that think the same way,” Hocker said.

“So there’s a lot of value there, I think, and brands see that, especially people that are in the space.

But again, [it’s] kind of how niche the track world is — things operate a little funky sometimes.”

His first visit to Franklin Field

Hocker hasn‘t been to Franklin Field before, since Oregon didn‘t run in the Penn Relays when he was there. But he’s heard plenty from former Ducks who have, including Edward Cheserek and Matthew Centrowitz — names that still resonate in Relays history.

“I’d say it might be number two most iconic in the U.S. behind Hayward [Field], so I’m excited to check that one off my bucket list,” he said, referring to Oregon’s famed track stadium.

“I’ve watched all these races of Cheserek and all the Oregon legends running at Penn, so it’s pretty cool.”

Hocker mentioned Cheserek’s 4xMile anchor leg in 2015, an all-time moment.

Cheserek took the baton having helped the Ducks win not just the previous day’s distance medley relay, but also the 2014 DMR and 4xMile.

This time, he deliberately slowed down the entire field at the start of the anchor leg, then lost to Villanova in the final stretch.

“I’ve seen that a bunch of times,” Hocker said. “You can tell how important it is to win.

I think, honestly, there’s a lot of parallels between Grand Slam and that, because you want to win at Penn. …

You might run a fast time, but it’s all about winning, and Grand Slam is the same way.”

On Sunday, Hocker should see Kerr and Olympic bronze medalist Yared Nuguse again, as he did in each of Grand Slam’s two previous meets.

And he’ll see them again at the end of June in Los Angeles, Grand Slam’s final stop.

Kenya’s Emmanuel Wanyonyi, last year’s Olympic 800-meter champion, won the first round in Kingston, Jamaica, and Kerr won the second in Miami. Hocker finished third both times.

“It’s very easy to stay motivated in the 1,500, just because of how good everyone is,” Hocker said.

“This season‘s so long, ending in mid-September, when I want to hit my full peak of the year.

So it’s good to get kind of thrown into the lion’s den. …

I’m going to have raced the best 1,500-meter runners in the world four times.”

Staying out of the trash talk

Ingebrigtsen won‘t be in Philadelphia, having declined an invitation to join the circuit.

That prompted Kerr to start chirping at him again in the media — not that they had really stopped.

Hocker gladly stays out of it.

“I don’t think I try to get along, and I don‘t try to keep the peace. I just do my thing,” he said.

“And I think there’s a lot of takeaways from last year on being so focused on someone else, and what can happen.”

But while it might not be good for the locker room, it’s definitely good for getting attention.

“I think it was probably the most anticipated event of at least the track Olympics, [beyond] maybe the 100 meters,” Hocker said. “Obviously, there’s so much to say about their race and congratulating me, but so many people bring up this rivalry. …

Whether they see me as the underdog, people are like, ‘Oh, I’m so happy to see both those guys go down.

I don’t like how they talk.’ So if I can be a piece in that story, and they kind of created it, yeah, I think conversation around it is always a good thing.”

For all the noise that has made, Grand Slam hasn’t broken through yet.

The Kingston event drew notably small crowds, given track’s popularity in Jamaica.

The Miami event was sold out, but at a relatively small venue.

Hocker is willing to be patient, knowing the circuit has two missions: to get track more attention, and to get athletes paid more than World Athletics does at its traditional meets.

“I believe it can be something that will be around in 20 years, but it’s kind of, ‘Let’s see how this year goes,’ and so far, it’s been great,” he said.

“Let’s start it small and grow from there, and if I can be the entertainment, then I love it. And, obviously, if I can keep getting paid, I love that, too.”