Yared Nuguse (born June 1, 1999) is an American

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

who specializes in the

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athleti ...

. He was the 2019 NCAA Division I champion in the event. Nuguse is the North American outdoor record holder over 1500 meters and

one mile The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

, and the North American indoor record holder for the 1500 meters, one mile and

3000 meters The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

. Since June 2022, Nuguse has competed for the

On Athletics Club On Athletics Club (OAC) is a training group of professional Distance running, distance runners sponsored by On (company), On. The team is coached by Dathan Ritzenhein and was founded in August 2020 with eight original members. OAC trains primarily ...

under coach

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of On Athletics Club. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009-2010, when it was broken by Bernard ...

Early life and background

He was born to Ethiopian parents Alem Nuguse and Mana Berhe. His mother and father are originally from the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob, and Kunama people, Kunama people. Its ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...

, however, Nuguse's father fled the country in the 1980s as a political

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

. He taught math and English prior to being granted asylum in the United States. At first, he settled in Arlington,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, which is where he later met his wife. Nuguse is the fourth of six children. He has three older siblings and two younger twin siblings. Nuguse showed little interest in sports during his earlier years of high school and instead preferred to dedicate himself to his studies, science workshops, and bowling. Eventually, he took up running upon the recommendation of his physical education (P.E.) teacher Mick Motley, who was so impressed by Nuguse's running time in the one mile that he referred him to the school's track coach, Tim Holman. Nuguse then finally made the switch from being on the school's bowling team to track and field. Nuguse attended

DuPont Manual High School duPont Manual High School is a public magnet high school located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It serves students in grades 9– 12. It is a part of the Jefferson County Public School District. DuPo ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

, where he was a successful high school runner prior to attending the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. Initially, he planned on pursuing the necessary degree to attend dental school wanting to eventually become an orthodontist, but graduated in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and is pursuing a master's degree in management at the university.

Collegiate competition

He competed collegiately for the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. In 2019, he anchored the Fighting Irish to victory in the Distance Medley Relay at the NCAA Division I Indoor T&F Championships before winning the 1500 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor T&F Championships just six days past his 20th birthday. On May 13, 2021, Nuguse set the NCAA 1500 meters record in a time of 3:34.68, which also met the Olympic standard. At the NCAA Division I T&F Championships, he finished second to

Cole Hocker Cole Hocker (born June 6, 2001) is an American middle and long-distance runner. He competed collegiately for the University of Oregon, where he won multiple NCAA titles. Hocker announced in 2021 he would forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility to ...

in a time of 3:35.60. Nuguse qualified for the 1500 m at the postponed

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

by finishing third at the U.S. Olympic Trials with his personal best time of 3:34.68, but did not participate in the Games due to a quad injury. On February 12, 2022, he broke the 18-year-old NCAA indoor 3000 meters record in a time of 7:38.13 at the BU Valentine Invitational. Nuguse capped off his 2022 NCAA indoor season at the

2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2022 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships were the 57th NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 40th NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in ...

, where he anchored Notre Dame's Distance Medley Relay team to a second-place finish. He also placed ninth in the 3000 meters. Upon graduation in 2022, he joined the

to compete professionally.

Professional

2023

On January 27, at the

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

John Thomas Terrier Classic in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

, the 23-year-old broke the North American indoor record in the 3000 m with a time of 7:28.24, slicing nearly two seconds off

Galen Rupp Galen Rupp (born May 8, 1986) is an Americans, American Long-distance track event, long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 in Beijing, 2012 Summer Olympics, 2012 in London, 2016 Summer Olympics, 201 ...

’s mark set in February 2013. Nuguse's time was also faster than the 7:28.48 outdoor record, which

Grant Fisher Grant Fisher (born April 22, 1997) is a Canadian-born American professional middle- and long-distance runner. He placed fifth in the 10,000 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and fourth at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. Fisher holds No ...

set in 2022. With a quick 3:56.96 last 1600 m, he moved to ninth on the world indoor all-time list. On February 11, he ran the second-fastest indoor mile in history with a time of 3:47.38 at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

in New York, smashing by more than two seconds

Bernard Lagat Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (born December 12, 1974) is a Kenyan-American middle and long-distance runner. Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya. Prior to his change of domicile to the US, Lagat had an extensive competitive career representing his ...

’s (who was a two-time world outdoor champion) 18-year-old North American indoor record of 3:49.98. Nuguse simultaneously broke also his indoor 1500 m record, which was set in the same race in 2005. He narrowly missed out on

Yomif Kejelcha Yomif Kejelcha Atomsa (born 1 August 1997) is an Ethiopian distance runner. He won a silver medal in the men’s 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. On 3 March 2019, Kejelcha broke the indoor mile world recor ...

's world indoor mile record of 3:47.01 and eclipsed by more than a second the best mark of famous multiple world record-holder

Hicham El Guerrouj Hicham El Guerrouj ( ar, هشام الݣروج, Hishām l-Garrūj; ber, ⵀⵉⵛⴰⵎ ⴻⵍ ⴳⴻⵔⵔⵓⵊ, Hisham El Gerruj; born 14 September 1974) is a retired Moroccan middle-distance runner. El Guerrouj is the current world record h ...

. Nuguse covered 200 m segment from 1400 to 1600 m in a very fast 25.94 to beat a quality field and set the second-fastest North American mile ever, indoors or outdoors. On May 28, Nuguse finished second in the 1500 m at the Rabat

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

in a new personal best of 3:33.02, narrowly losing to reigning Olympic champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen. On June 15, Nuguse finished third in the 1500 m at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bisl ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

in a new personal best and North American outdoor record of 3:29.02, finishing behind Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Mohamed Katir. This time places Nuguse at 18th on the all-time list over 1500 meters, and makes him one of three Americans to run under 3:30 (the other two being

and

Sydney Maree Sydney Maree (born September 9, 1956) is a former middle distance runner who competed at the international level in the 1980s. He was the first South African to run officially under 3:30 in the 1500m. He was born in Cullinan, South Africa, but l ...

). On July 9, Nuguse won the 1500 m at the 2023

USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships is an annual track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. Since the year 1992, in the years which feature a Summer Olym ...

held at

Hayward Field Hayward Field is a track and field stadium in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States, located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. It has been the home of the university's Oregon Ducks track and field, t ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census ...

. By doing so he qualified for the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships ( hu, 2023-as atlétikai világbajnokság), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, are scheduled to be held from 19 August to 27 August 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The city of Budapes ...

Budapest, Hungary Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population o ...

. On July 23, Nuguse won his first Diamond League race, winning the 1500m at the

London Diamond League The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Dia ...

in a time of 3:30.44. It was the first win by an American man in a Diamond League 1500 since 2011. At the

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

, Nuguse made it to the Men's 1500m Final, which took place on August 23. He finished fifth, in a time of 3:30.25. On September 16, at the 2023

Prefontaine Classic The Prefontaine Classic, an Oregon Track Club event, is one of the premier track and field meets in the United States, held in Eugene, Oregon. Every year it draws a world caliber field to compete at Hayward Field on the campus of the Univers ...

final, Nuguse broke the American mile record in a time of 3:43.97 in his second-place finish to Jakob Ingebrigtsen. At the time, this was the fourth fastest performance in history. On December 9, Nuguse, in his first ever road race, won Honolulu's Kalakaua Merrie Mile, in a time of 3:56.58. Finishing second was Vincent Ciattei in 3:56.81, and third place went to

Hobbs Kessler Hobbs Kessler (born 15 March 2003) is an American middle and long-distance runner. He competes professionally for Adidas, having turned professional directly after high school. He holds the North American U20 record in the 1500 meters, having ru ...

in 3:57.12. Nuguse narrowly missed Kessler's world road mile record of 3:56.13.

2024

On January 26, at Boston University's John Thomas Terrier Classic, Nuguse ran a personal best time of 13:02.09 in the men's 5000m Scarlet Heat, hitting the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

entry standard of 13:05.00. He came in third place, behind fellow OAC athlete George Mills (12:58.68) and Under Armour Dark Sky Distance's Edwin Kurgat (12:57.52). On February 11, Nuguse defended his

Wanamaker Mile The Wanamaker Mile is an indoor mile race held annually at the Millrose Games in New York City. It was named in honour of department store owner Rodman Wanamaker. The event was first held in 1926 inside Madison Square Garden, which was the venue for ...

title at the

116th Millrose Games The 2024 Millrose Games was the 116th edition of the annual indoor track and field meeting in New York City. Held on 11 February at the Fort Washington Armory in Upper Manhattan, it was the sixth leg of the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour Gol ...

with a time of 3:47.83. On February 16, Nuguse won the men's 3000m at the

2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2024 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds from January 27-28, and the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico from February 16–17. Organized by USA Track and Field (USATF), it s ...

, in a time of 7:55.76. On March 2, at the

2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

Glasgow, Scotland Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Nuguse came in second place to Josh Kerr in the men's 3000m final, in a time of 7:43.59.

Achievements

International competitions

Circuit wins and titles

(1500 metres wins, other events specified in parentheses) *

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

(2):

London Anniversary Games The London Diamond League, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events, it is now part of the Dia ...

, Zürich Weltklasse *

World Athletics Indoor Tour The World Athletics Indoor Tour, formerly the IAAF World Indoor Tour, is an annual series of indoor track and field meetings, held since 2016. It was designed to create a Diamond League-style circuit for indoor track and field events, to raise th ...

(2):

(Mile), Villa de Madrid Indoor Meeting **

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***'' Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney ...

(Mile)

National titles

** 1500 m:

** 3000 m:

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

** 3000 m:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nuguse, Yared 1999 births Living people American male long-distance runners Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Sportspeople from Louisville, Kentucky Track and field athletes from Kentucky American male middle-distance runners American people of Ethiopian descent