Axel's Personal Best

Olympic gold put Cole Hocker on global stage at the 2024 Paris Games when a final surge in the men's 1,500m silenced favorites like Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr — and propelled his growing legend as the one to beat.It also help reinforced the idea this era of middle distance racing could deliver dramatic finishes and storylines like its sprint counterparts.But for Hocker, remaining grounded is a part of a formula that has ensure that the main event is whenever he steps on the track, with a constant them of reminding the no lead is secure when he's involved.Before his win in the men's 3,000m at the USATF Indoor Championships in New York, Hocker spoke on the outlook for his season, his sudden boost in notoriety after the Paris and if he had any side quests planned in a year of no Olympics or world championships.

The impact of making the Paris Olympics as part of Team USA's squad still resonates with Allie Wilson.She punched her ticket as part of a chaotic women's 800m final in Eugene last year as part of a whirlwind season where she also signed a contract with Nike — part of a sign that things were changing and the pauses in life would soon become rarer.But in a fast sport, the time away from the track feels even faster and 2025's long season on the track has wrapped and road races now dominate calendar. Wilson spoke with me last month after a frantic Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City and touched on several points as she caught her breath — including her move up to the 1,500m (and mile) — and what a post-Olympic mindset means for the chase to be healthy and consistent.

During in the beginning of a pandemic era that rattled the world in 2020, Isabella Whittaker saw her own beginnings as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. But it was after those days at Penn — after enrolling at Arkansas in 2024 as a graduate student — that Whittaker kickstarted the current state of her place in the track landscape.Her times in the 400m fell and fell again with her 50.48 performance at the 2024 U.S. Olympics trials propelling her to the women's final. And while she finished sixth, the time earned her a slot in the American relay pool — with her biggest moment coming as her collegiate career was coming to a close.On March 1, she hurled herself to seventh all-time on the women's 400m world indoor list with a 49.90 at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.And suddenly, Whittaker progressed, with the pace of the professional ranks — and her performances — ensuring that she will likely be a factor as world championships approach.In her own words, she illustrates her own great progression.

Humble beginnings and major childhood challenges kept Alison dos Santos well aware that guarantees were not easy to come by in his native São Joaquim da Barra, Brazil.Still, he found his way, navigated toward track and field, and a bronze at the 2018 World U20 Championships proved to be a breakout moment. The next year, he followed it up with efforts at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha that shifted attention his way as he battled to the 400m hurdles final.By 2024 dos Santos's wins at Diamond League stops in Doha and Oslo set him up for another Olympic stint after his Bronze in Tokyo in 2021. In Paris, he won bronze again in the 400m hurdles, a sign that dos Santos would be a mainstay in the sport — mixing colorful personalty with intensity on the track.Behind the scenes, dos Santos is candid and in today's show he explores legacy, early life in Brazil and gives a glimpse of a side the crowds and cameras simply don't get a chance to see.

In the first episode of Axel's Personal Best, we chat with Olympic 800-meter silver medalist Marco Arop — who has a 1:41.2 PB and Canadian national record — about blazing the track in Grand Slam Track's inaugural season, the state middle distance running and the nuances of training for the 1,500 meter.