The 2024 Millrose Games kept the audience at the edge of their seats through and through. Yared Nuguse impeccably executed the men’s indoor mile race. However, the race held special value for Nuguse. En route to his ascension to the top, Nuguse clocked a blitzkrieg timing of 3:46.63s. Lo and behold! with that, Nuguse became a world record holder! He broke the record of Ethiopian runner Yomif Kejelcha, who reigned supreme till now with a timing of 3:47.01, set way back in 2019. 

The 25-year-old has had a steady rise to fame in recent times. Competing at the Paris Olympics 2024, Nuguse clinched the bronze medal to secure fame. And what followed today was absolute mayhem. Nuguse has been dominating the Wanamaker Mile race at the Millrose Games. This is the third consecutive time that the Kentucky native has emerged victorious. However, last year, he missed the world record by a whisker. 

Yared Nuguse is at the zenith of track and field glory

Thus, coming to the race this year, Nuguse’s focus didn’t budge. He looked dominant right from the beginning. As a result, the Olympic bronze medalist has also created history by wrestling the 70-year-old Wanamaker Mile record from Gunnar Nielsen. After Nielsen, the 25-year-old is the first athlete to break the world record at the Wanamaker Mile race. And that’s not all! Such a fiery performance has also led to access to some exclusive brackets. He is now the first US athlete to hold an indoor or outdoor mile record on the track. 

The last time anyone did it was Mary Slaney back in the 1980s when she held both the records in the women’s category. On the flip side, the last time a male American athlete held the honor was Dick Buerkle in 1978 and ‘79 as per a report from Bringbackthemile.com. Now, coming back to the race, it was one of the most closely contested events ever. Putting up stiff competition, the first 8 ranked athletes all clocked under 3:50s! 

While Nuguse occupied the center stage during the race through and through, another American, Hobbs Kesler, clocked 3:46.90s. This was an incredible feat as Yomif Kejelcha’s record now stands at third! The third position was taken up by Aussie athlete, Cam Meyers, with a timing of 3:47.48s. Naturally, Nuguse was in seventh heaven after achieving such a career-defining victory. 

The 25-year-old also spoke about how the absence of Josh Kerr was saddening and he wished to race with him in the future. Nuguse also mentioned that he will be racing either 3k or a mile next. Thus, it is evident that Yared Nuguse is at the top of things at the moment. We are awaiting more phenomenal performances from him in the future. It bound to get better, right?