WATCH: Olympic Champion Cole Hocker Out of 1,500m Final After Disqualification in Tokyo

Cole Hocker’s defense of his Olympic crown came to an abrupt end in Tokyo on Monday night after the American was disqualified from the men’s 1500m semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships. Officials ruled that Hocker illegally impeded Germany’s Robert Farken in the final 100 meters, costing him a place in Wednesday’s final.

The 24-year-old, who won a surprise gold in Paris last year over Josh Kerr and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, was well-placed as the field entered the home straight. But boxed in on the rail with Farken in front and the Netherlands’ Stefan Nillessen to his outside, Hocker tried to force his way through.

Television replays showed him shoving past with his right arm extended across Farken’s body. Farken faltered and dropped back, eventually finishing tenth.

Hocker crossed the line in an automatic qualifying spot, but his move was quickly flagged by officials under World Athletics’ “jostling” rule (TR17.12), which prohibits obstruction that provides an unfair advantage or interferes with another athlete’s performance.

Germany immediately protested, and although Team USA countered with an appeal, a jury rejected it. Farken was advanced to the final, with South Africa’s Tshepo Tshite also promoted into the top six.

“We are disappointed by the decision to disqualify Olympic champion Cole Hocker from the men’s 1500m final,” USA Track & Field said in a statement, noting that the team believed it had grounds for appeal. Hocker, for his part, tried to downplay the incident.

“Obviously I’m not trying to affect anyone else’s race,” he told Citius Mag. “I was just trying to get to the line in that top six position. I would have liked to have it a little bit cleaner, but it was what it was.”

Not everyone agreed. Former world champion Steve Cram, commentating for the BBC, said Hocker had “panicked” and that officials were right to step in. “You can’t do this, really. I know the gap was there, if he’d been a bit more patient. But he did impede the German athlete,” Cram said.

The disqualification is a major blow for Hocker and for the championships. With Jakob Ingebrigtsen already eliminated in the opening round, Hocker was expected to be one of the leading challengers to Kerr and 2022 world champion Jake Wightman.

Instead, the American will watch from the sidelines as Britain’s duo, Dutch prodigy Niels Laros, who qualified fastest, and his U.S. teammate Jonah Koech line up for what is now a wide-open final.

Hocker’s exit is a reminder of how fine the margins are in championship 1500m racing. A year ago in Paris, he had navigated a similarly tight situation to spring a historic upset in the Olympic final. This time, his instincts led him over the line, but not into the final.

The men’s 1500m final is scheduled for Wednesday night in Tokyo at 10:20 p.m. local time (9:20 a.m. ET).