Well, well, well… guess who just ran a mile faster than most of us can process what’s happening? Yared Nuguse. That’s who. He just tore through the track at the 2025 Millrose Games. And in doing so he set a new indoor mile world record of 3:46.63. But… this was supposed to be a showdown between Nuguse and Olympic champion Josh Kerr, but the 27-year-old had to pull out last minute. No matter—Nuguse didn’t need a rival to put on a show. He played it smart early on, hanging in second place until three laps to go, then decided he’d had enough of that and took off. Hobbs Kessler tried to go with him, but Nuguse was gone. By the final straight, it was just him and history. Spoiler alert: history lost.

Now, this isn’t some one-hit wonder situation—Nuguse has been on fire for a while. He grabbed Olympic bronze in the 1500m at Paris 2024, holds American records in the indoor and outdoor 1500m, and owns the road mile record for good measure. Basically, if there’s a middle-distance race happening, chances are he’s winning or rewriting the record books. But now, the real test is coming up: the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September. Can he grab another title?

Of course, there are a couple of guys who might have something to say about that. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, the Olympic 1500m gold medalist, isn’t exactly in the habit of letting people take his crown without a fight. And let’s not forget Josh Kerr, the reigning world champion, who might have missed this race but will be more than ready when Tokyo rolls around.

If all three of them step onto the track in Tokyo, we’re looking at an instant classic. So, what do you think? Yared Nuguse has the potential to dominate the 1500m event but will he succeed before Ingebrigtsen and Kerr? LetsRun.com released a new YouTube podcast where a former U.S. track star assesses the situation.

The LetsRun.com podcast invited Weldon Johnson, who competed twice for the U.S. national team, as well as LetsRun co-founder Robert Johnson and Jonathan Gault, who worked as a staff writer for the site. But things got really interesting when Weldon Johnson dropped a bold take: “This is crazy—Yared Nuguse just ran a world record in the mile, and if I had to pick my 1500m favorites for Tokyo right now, I’m putting him fourth.” He went on to explain his reasoning, pointing to Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Cole Hocker, and Josh Kerr as bigger threats, questioning whether Nuguse can handle their finishing kicks.

Johnson broke it down further, saying that last year, Jakob was still the favorite, but his dominance wasn’t guaranteed—especially after Kerr’s breakout performances. The unexpected victory by Cole Hocker at the race caused spectators to question whether he could repeat his feat or if it marked the start of something new. Hocker continues to run the 3,000m in a time of 7:23.14 which further ignites controversial discussion.

Johnson added, “There are still a lot of doubts about Jakob, how he handles these kickers but I’m still putting him ahead of Nuguse.” After Yared Nuguse’s historic performance, the prediction seems audacious. However, the Tokyo 2025 World Championships will offer multiple possibilities in the 1500m running contest. So based on their results which athlete would you choose to claim victory?

Yared Nuguse just changed the game, now what?

The 1500m competition remains extremely fierce as the competition between athletes reaches its highest level. Yared Nuguse (25) holds a PB of 3:27.80, but his biggest rivals—Jakob Ingebrigtsen (24) at 3:26.73, Cole Hocker (23) at 3:27.65, and Josh Kerr (27) at 3:27.79—are all in the mix. Fresh off his silver medal at Paris 2024, Kerr is hungry for more, saying, “It’s not the color I wanted, but I’m moving in the right direction—from bronze (Tokyo 2020) to silver.” Meanwhile, Hocker has already kicked off his 2025 season with a statement, proving his Olympic gold was no fluke.

Hocker’s early-season 3K battle against Grant Fisher at the Millrose Games was electric—Hocker took an early lead, but Fisher surged past him in the final stretch to claim victory and a new world record. While, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, however, is taking a different approach. He is set to open his season on February 17 in Lievin, France. But in Millrose, the Olympic champion opted to skip the indoor season due to an Achilles issue. It’s a setback, but Ingebrigtsen is clearly playing the long game, prioritizing LA 2028 over short-term wins.

With Yared Nuguse smashing records, Kerr chasing gold, Hocker proving his dominance, and Ingebrigtsen regrouping for the bigger picture, this season is shaping up to be a must-watch, and the only thing left to figure out is—who’s coming out on top.