By the Way, Yared Nuguse Broke the American 1500 Record at Millrose, Too
Nuguse Has Broken 3 American Records This Winter
By Jonathan Gault
February 13, 2023
Yared Nuguse didn’t break one American record at Saturday’s Millrose Games. He actually broke two.
Nuguse’s 3:47.38 mile got the headlines, smashing Bernard Lagat‘s previous American indoor record of 3:49.89 by more than two seconds. But Nuguse broke Lagat’s American indoor 1500m record as well, splitting 3:33.22 for his first 1500 — .12 faster than Lagat’s previous AR of 3:33.34. Millrose meet director Ray Flynn — who doubles as Nuguse’s agent — told LetsRun that the split is official and that they have filled out the proper paperwork in order for the time to be ratified as the American 1500 record.
Like Nuguse, Lagat’s 1500 AR came from the same race in which he broke the mile record, the 2005 Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Comparing the two races shows the contrasting styles in which the two men broke the record. Nuguse broke Lagat’s mile AR by 2.61 seconds, but he broke the 1500 AR by just .12. While Lagat was barely hanging on at the end, Nuguse was moving faster than at any point in the race: Nuguse ran his final 109.34 meters in 14.16 seconds (3:28 mile pace) compared to Lagat’s 16.55 (4:03 mile pace).
Kevin Morris photo
The new record may not last for long, however. Nuguse is entered in the 1500 at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Madrid on February 22, where he will face a field including teammate Mario Garcia Romo of Spain (5th at Millrose in a Spanish record of 3:51.79, 3:30.20 outdoor 1500 pb) and American outdoor 3,000 record holder Grant Fisher.
Olympic 1500 champion and world indoor 1500 record holder Jakob Ingebrigtsen will also be running in Madrid, but in the 3,000. Nuguse, who has never raced Ingebrigtsen before, said it will be fun to take on the Norwegian star this season but has no interest in changing events in Madrid.
“I’ve done the 3k,” Nuguse said with a smile after Millrose. “That was a one-time thing. It was fun. I’m doing the mile from now on.”
With Nuguse’s run on Saturday, 2023 has now seen American indoor records in the 1500, mile, 3,000, and 5,000 meters. Here is how the top-5 lists in each event looks now.
US all-time indoor 1500 list
1. 3:33.22* Yared Nuguse 2023 Millrose
2. 3:33.34* Bernard Lagat 2005 Tyson Invitational
3. 3:34.77 Josh Thompson 2020 BU Last Chance
4. 3:35.21* Johnny Gregorek 2019 Bruce Lehane Invitational
5. 3:35.28 Ben Blankenship 2015 Sainsbury’s Indoor Grand Prix
*en route to mile
US all-time indoor mile list
1. 3:47.38 Yared Nuguse 2023 Millrose
2. 3:49.89 Bernard Lagat 2005 Tyson Invitational
3. 3:49.98 Johnny Gregorek 2019 Bruce Lehane Invitational
4. 3:50.17 Cooper Teare 2022 Windy City Invitational
5. 3:50.35 Cole Hocker 2022 Windy City Invitational
US all-time indoor 3,000 list
1. 7:28.24 Yared Nuguse 2023 John Thomas Terrier Classic
2. 7:30.16 Galen Rupp 2013 XL-Galan
3. 7:32.43 Bernard Lagat 2007 Birmingham Indoor
4. 7:34.14 Joe Klecker 2023 Millrose
5. 7:34.70 Cooper Teare 2023 Millrose
US all-time indoor 5,000 list
1. 12:51.61 Woody Kincaid 2023 John Thomas Terrier Classic
2. 12:53.73 Grant Fisher 2022 David Hemery Valentine Invitational
3. 12:54.99 Joe Klecker 2023 John Thomas Terrier Classic
4. 13:00.48 Emmanuel Bor 2022 David Hemery Valentine Invitational
5. 13:01.26 Galen Rupp 2014 BU Limited Open