Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Yared Nuguse is in only his second season as a pro. His first was wild.
In 2023, Nuguse, now 25, set three American records on the indoor track and one outdoors, in the mile, when Noah Lyles Rolls to 200-Meter Win at the Trials, the final meet of the season. He became the fourth-fastest man in history at the distance.
The only possible flaw in Nuguse’s rookie year was his fifth-place finish in the 1500 meters at the World Championships in August in Budapest. Missing the podium for a global medal? It rankled a little, but in a way that helped drive his training over subsequent weeks leading to that epic outdoor mile.
“It didn’t gnaw away at him; it motivated him,” said Dathan Ritzenhein, Nuguse’s coach with the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado. “He seems unfazed, like he doesn’t care sometimes. But he accepts it quickly, and then he is still as determined as ever.”
Nuguse maintains that chill demeanor. An Instagram video from last November, detailing how he gets his turtle, Tyro, ready for hibernation, was both earnest and cheeky, poking gentle fun at the “Get Ready With Me” genre of videos that are a social media staple. (Tyro went into a mini fridge on November 15, 2023, and reemerged in early April, no worse for wear.)
Nuguse had no such period of hibernation. His sophomore season picked up right where he left off last year.
“He’s definitely stronger,” Ritzenhein said. “It’s a big difference that we noticed. Last year obviously, he was great. But I think a whole year means a lot as a pro. He can handle a lot more training, especially with the other guys.”
Nuguse won a silver medal in the indoor 3,000 meters at the World Championships, then ran 3:51.06 for the mile at Penn Relays, followed by 3:46.22 at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic in May.
The big prize of the summer is, of course, the Olympic Games in Paris in August. But the first step is making the U.S. Olympic team. The first round of the men’s 1500 meters at the Olympic Trials is June 21. It’s one of the deepest distance events for the U.S. and anything can happen. “This is such a hard team to make, so we could never look past that,” Ritzenhein said. (For insurance, Nuguse is also entered into the 5,000 meters on the final weekend of the Trials, but the hope is that he won’t have to run it.)
Nuguse keeps it close to the vest when asked what a successful season would look like.
“It could look like a lot of things,” he said. “It could be me winning every single race the entire year. Or it could be me really hanging in there and having consistent fitness. At the end of the day, I’ve always said I just wanted to have fun doing what I do best. If that happens, I think I’ll be really happy with the season.”
Ritzenhein, who says Nuguse is “hungrier” than he was last year, doesn’t mince words. “He sees himself going into Paris,” Ritzenehein said, “and having aspirations to winning.”
How to Watch the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track Trials is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
