Yared Nuguse Runs 3:34.68 to Break NCAA Record and Get Olympic Qualifying Mark
by LetsRun.com
May 14, 2021
Notre Dame’s Yared Nuguse is the #1 miler in the NCAA right now and may be the #1 miler in America.
The only problem for Nuguse was he did not have the Tokyo Olympic qualifying mark (3:35.00) under his belt.
So in the preliminary round of the 1500m at the ACC Track and Field Championships, he did something untraditional, he went out and tried to get the mark by himself without a rabbit.
Mission accomplished.
Running by himself from the gun, Nuguse went out fast (41.46 for 300 which is 55.3 400 pace), and then ran consistently fast to the finish (his last 3 laps were 57.44, 57.83 and 57.95) and he was rewarded not only with a Tokyo qualifier, as he crossed the line in 3:34.68, but also the NCAA outdoor record (previous record was 3:35.01 by Josh Kerr) and all surfaces record (Sam Tanner ran 3:34.72 indoors this year). Super, super impressive. Virginia freshman Wes Porter ran a 3:42.92 PR to finish 2nd in the heat.
You can watch highlights of Nuguse’s run below or a full video below that.
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Quick Take: Unconventional but smart run by Nuguse
Last week Nuguse took down Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker in Oregon to assert his status as the #1 miler in the NCAA. He is the defending outdoor champ as well. However, last week was his first 1500 since 2019, and his only 1500 during the Tokyo qualifying period. To make sure if he’s top 3 at the Trials he would actually go to the Olympics, he needed to go sub 3:35.00 or run a few more fast 1500s to improve his world ranking. An athlete needs 5 performances to get a world ranking. Nuguse only had one. Nuguse presumably would get a fast time at NCAAs and the Trials. So he needed a few more marks. Trying to solo a 3:34 1500m might seem crazy, but if Nuguse had slowed and run 3:36 it still would have been very good for his world ranking. But he went sub 3:35 and now can just focus on winning the rest of his races (or placing top 3 at the Trials).
Quick Take: Jim Ryun was a beast
Nuguse’s run was the fastest by an athlete during the NCAA season. Jim Ryun ran 3:33.1 in 1967 in July after he won the 1967 Outdoor NCAA title. Ryun also won NCAA indoor titles in 1967, 68 and 1969, so it’s not like Ryun wasn’t a collegian when he ran 3:33 but his 3:33 wasn’t during the NCAA season. And this was 54 years ago without superspikes.
Talk about Nuguse’s run on our world famous fan forum / messageboard. MB: No rabbit, no problem. YARED MF NUGUSE SOLOS CR & OLYMPIC STANDARD 3:34.68!!!!
ACC Heat 2 Results
Pl |
Pos | Athlete | Time | 300m | 700m | 1100m | 1500m | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 |  |
Yared NUGUSE Notre Dame [ JR] |
3:34.68 Q PB FR MR ACC CR |
41.46 [41.46] |
1:38.90 [57.44] |
2:36.73 [57.83] |
3:34.68 [57.95] |
| 2 | 2 |  |
Wes PORTER Virginia [ FR] |
3:42.92 Q PB |
43.36 [43.36] |
1:44.43 [1:01.08] |
2:46.53 [1:02.11] |
3:42.92 [56.39] |
| 3 | 12 | |
Randy NEISH Virginia [ SR] |
3:43.61 Q PB |
43.54 [43.54] |
1:44.62 [1:01.08] |
2:46.64 [1:02.02] |
3:43.61 [56.98] |
| 4 | 10 |  |
Ethan MILLS Virginia Tech [ SO] |
3:44.92 PB |
43.78 [43.78] |
1:44.89 [1:01.11] |
2:46.92 [1:02.04] |
3:44.92 [58.00] |
| 5 | 9 |  |
Sam FIELD Florida State [ FR] |
3:45.10 | 44.17 [44.17] |
1:45.07 [1:00.90] |
2:46.14 [1:01.08] |
3:45.10 [58.96] |
| 6 | 7 |  |
Joe BISTRITZ NC State [ SR] |
3:45.65 PB |
43.16 [43.16] |
1:44.22 [1:01.07] |
2:46.37 [1:02.15] |
3:45.65 [59.28] |
| 7 | 13 |  |
Austin GABAY Duke [ FR] |
3:46.10 PB |
44.31 [44.31] |
1:45.65 [1:01.35] |
2:46.88 [1:01.23] |
3:46.10 [59.23] |
| 8 | 4 |  |
Henrik ANDERSON Georgia Tech [ SO] |
3:47.63 PB |
44.38 [44.38] |
1:45.25 [1:00.87] |
2:46.56 [1:01.32] |
3:47.63 [1:01.07] |
| 9 | 5 | |
Humberto FREIRE Florida State [ JR] |
3:49.10 | 42.78 [42.78] |
1:43.98 [1:01.20] |
2:46.19 [1:02.22] |
3:49.10 [1:02.91] |
| 10 | 3 |  |
Steven JACKSON Boston College [ FR] |
3:49.92 PB |
44.46 [44.46] |
1:45.85 [1:01.40] |
2:49.57 [1:03.73] |
3:49.92 [1:00.36] |
| 11 | 1 | |
Erik LINDEN Boston College [ SO] |
3:55.85 | 44.13 [44.13] |
1:45.49 [1:01.37] |
2:50.79 [1:05.30] |
3:55.85 [1:05.06] |
| 12 | 11 | |
Tim BASON NC State [ JR] |
3:58.42 SB |
43.93 [43.93] |
1:45.31 [1:01.38] |
2:51.07 [1:05.77] |
3:58.42 [1:07.36] |
| 13 | 8 |  |
Ben EWERT Louisville [ JR] |
4:00.95 | 44.90 [44.90] |
1:48.72 [1:03.82] |
2:55.26 [1:06.54] |
4:00.95 [1:05.70] |