USATF Indoor Championships: Yared Nuguse’s Coach Reveals the Real Reason Behind His Participation In 3000M

It was all about the track and field stars, making the month of February even more joyous. After the US Olympic Marathon Trials and New Balance Grand Prix gave us some talents to swoon over, came the Millrose Games with its events. Speaking of the American home boys and girls who proved their worth within two months into 2024, one name specifically comes up. Yared Nuguse, originally from Ethiopia, weaving magic on US soil, pitched up for the USATF Indoor Championships.

In 2023, at the 115th Millrose Games, Nuguse ran the second-fastest and set the indoor 1500m record. By a small margin, he missed out on besting the world record holder. But in 2024, he satiated his thirst by defending his Wanamaker mile title, therefore finishing first with 3:47.83. However, he’s not participating in the 1500m in the upcoming event.

The USATF Indoor Championships will have Nuguse on the 3000m list

LetsRun.com invited Nuguse’s coach Dathan Ritzenhein to shed light on their combined plans. We have the 24-year-old’s name in the 3000m, but it didn’t come as a surprise as his first 5,000-meter race since 2021 in Boston last January. On a mission to maintain a bigger base during the winters, the coach-athlete duo has mindfully picked the 3000m.

Ritzenhein said, “I think he’s already as fit or fitter than he was [in 2023]. We do want to push the envelope on the strength side of things for him but also give him an opportunity to keep his base up high.” Since he has just been competing as a professional for two years now, the coach is slowly upping the levels.

He further said, “Doing rounds for some people earlier in the year is not something we want to focus on as much because we want to keep his training volume high. Get out there, race against the guys who have run a little bit faster than him in the 3k and test himself there.” To sum up, Ritzenhein is solely focused on keeping him in a high-paced environment.

No American has run faster than Yared Nuguse’s 7:28.24 American record from last year. However, competition will be high as Abdihamid Nur, Cole Hocker, and Cooper Teare will also compete in the 3,000.

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A look at Nuguse’s Millrose performance

Just 0.82s short of the world record time, Nuguse left the first runners-up 0.83s behind. Standing as the sole runner in the world to have broken the 3.48 barrier twice, the 24-year-old qualified for the Paris Olympics on account of his wonderful 5000m feat at the 2024 Boston University Terrier Classic.

After he touched the Olympic standard time or rather bested it, he was left in amazement. “I’m feeling pretty good. Coming into this race I didn’t really have expectations of getting a standard or anything”, he said. Clocking in at 13:02.09, Nuguse finished among the men who topped the charts. Time will tell what coach Ritzenhein has in store for his trainee.

READ MORE: Yared Nuguse Reveals Why Millrose Game Is the Most Important for Him