Yared Nuguse, Mo Katir Squaring off in Fabulous 1500m Match-up in Madrid

By LetsRun.com
February 21, 2023

There will be a stellar 1500m match-up of two very in-form studs at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold Meeting in Madrid, Spain tomorrow (Wednesday).  Yared Nuguse, the new American record holder and second fastest person ever in the mile indoors, will battle Spain’s  Mo Katir, the world championship bronze medallist in the 1500 and second fastest ever in the indoor 3000m.

The race also features Mario García Romo of Spain, the 4th placer at the 2022 World Championships,  Adel Mechaal of Spain, 5th at 2021 Olympics, and the United States’ Grant Fisher, the US record holder at 5000 and 10,000.

All eyes will be on Nuguse and Katir who enter the race in supreme form. Last Wednesday in France, Katir ran 7:24.68 for 3000m, faster than Daniel Komen’s 25-year-old world record at 3000m (7:24.90). The only problem for Katir was he was second in the race behind Lamecha Girma (7:23.81), who set the new world record.  Nuguse opened up his indoor campaign with a 7:28.24 American record at 3000m and followed it up with a 3:47.38  American record mile at the Millrose Games.

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World Record Attempt?

At Tuesday’s pre-race press conference, Katir who has run 3:28.76 outdoors, said the 1500m world record of Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:30.60) is on his mind.

He said, (translated from Spanish), “If we start at a pace of 3:30 it is clear that the Spanish record (3:33.32) can fall… And while we are at it, why not try the world record (3:30.60 )”.

The only problem? Madrid is at over 2,100 feet of altitude. “Tinman’s” Final Surge altitude calculator says that altitude is worth over 2 seconds in a 1500m at 3:30 pace. LetsRun.com’s John Kellogg agrees and says the altitude is worth roughly 2.5 seconds.

Nuguse said his goal was a bit more modest, “My goal is to break the United States record,” which is the 3:33.22 he split en route in New York.

Quick Take:

Fans are getting the 1500m match-up of the year so far in this one.  It is time for someone to go under 3:30 for 1500m indoors. If this race was at sea level, we think the world record would happen, but odds are REALLY against it because of the altitude. Even if the altitude makes only a one-second difference, that makes it a lot harder.

It may be hard for American fans to accept but, Nuguse, a guy who just ran 3:47.38 in the mile, has to be considered the underdog. Katir just ran nearly 4 seconds faster than Nuguse did at BU in the 3000 (7:24.68 vs 7:28.24) at 3000m, and has the better 1500m personal best, but Katir may have his hands full. Nuguse had an amazing close in Millrose and didn’t have someone rabbiting him the second half of his 3000m in Boston. Who do you think will win?

Who wins the men's 1500 clash in Madrid?

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It will also be interesting to see if Granf Fisher can PR in this race (His pb is 3:35.53) despite it being at altitude.

The race is at 3:18 pm eastern/9:18 Spain and can be watched on Flotrack in the US or via Youtube via many countries in the world. Need a VPN? We rave about our VPN here: Letsrun.com/vpn.

Talk about the race on our world-famous fan forum / messageboard: MB: Start List Madrid Nuguse vs Fisher in 1500.

Full 1500 Entries
ATLETA / ATHLETE FN / DOB PAIS / CTY PB SB
NUGUSE, YARED 01/06/1999 USA 3:33.22 3:33.22
MECHAAL, ADEL 05/12/1990 ESP 3:35.30 3:36.55
KATIR, MOHAMED 17/02/1998 ESP 3:35.48 3:35.48
GARCIA ROMO, MARIO 29/06/1999 ESP 3:35.98 3:35.98
GOMEZ SANTIAGO, JESUS 24/04/1991 ESP 3:36.32 3:36.33
DENNISSEL, SIMON 22/05/1990 FRA 3:37.30 3:37.30
ARESE, PIETRO 08/10/1999 ITA 3:37.31 3:48.07
GRETHEN, CHARLES 22/06/1992 LUX 3:37.38 3:37.45
ATTAOUI TIJANI, MOHAMED 26/09/2002 ESP 3:42.03 3:42.03

*Preview of rest of the meet from World Athletics *Schedule *Entries

 

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