From ‘scrawny' teenager to the ‘ultimate competitor,' Yared Nuguse has had a wild, unexpected journey to the top of running
But life has a funny way of taking unlikely turns, our hidden talents unearthed in places we never expect. For a teenage Nuguse, 'scrawny' and with little care for sports, the idea that he would one day become an elite middle-distance athlete – and among the best in the world, no less – was laughable.
It's a good job, then, that he took it upon himself to blaze around the running track in a high school mile race, all in the name of getting an A in PE. Looking on at the time, his teacher saw who he hoped would be the track team's latest recruit.
'He was quite convincing, fortunately, and he got me to join the team,' Nuguse tells CNN Sport. 'And from then on, I just fell in love with running.'
After showing early promise as a high school student in Louisville, Kentucky, Nuguse competed for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning an NCAA title in the 1,500 meters in 2019. From there, a career in running beckoned, along with the fitting label of 'America's accidental champion.'
'It's been a crazy journey, one that I never really saw coming or expected,' says Nuguse. 'But it's one that I'm really glad I gave a chance because I would be in a completely different space right now if I hadn't.
'Running has just been changing my life in many amazing ways, and I've been really, really happy for it, and happy that my track coach in high school was able to convince me.'
Even today, Nuguse struggles to get his head around the path his life has taken, still failing to see himself as a natural runner. He doesn't consider himself a sporty person and talks about how his 'long, windy stride' can make him click heels with competitors during races.
But his achievements on the track are testament to his enormous talent and work ethic. In one of the most eagerly anticipated events of last year's Paris Olympics, Nuguse took bronze in the 1,500m, bested by compatriot Cole Hocker and – by the slimmest of margins – Britain's Josh Kerr. It was a sprint finish for the ages.
He then beat Hocker, Kerr and Norway's two-time Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen, this generation's most decorated middle distance athlete, a month later at a Diamond League meet in Zurich, a race billed as a repeat of the enthralling tussle in Paris.
Between those four athletes, this is a compelling era for men's middle-distance running, and Nuguse is a key protagonist. He produced one of the standout performances of his career in New York last month, defending his indoor mile title at the Millrose Games with a world record time of 3:46.63.
It took just five days for Ingebrigtsen to get the record for himself – and by more than a second, too – before Nuguse fell short in another record attempt in Boston last week.
'He's really good at breaking records and doing what he does,' Nuguse says about Ingebrigtsen, speaking before his run in Boston. 'Honestly, I was happy for him. It's a little bit of a bummer, but at the end of the day, records are meant to be broken in a lot of ways.
'I think what Jakob does really well is he elevates the sport, elevates what everyone else thinks they're capable of doing by going out and running these crazy times.'
You won't hear many athletes say such kind words about their rivals, most of all Ingebrigtsen and Kerr. Those two have been trading barbs for years, and it's not without a touch of irony that, for all the trash-talking, the Olympic 1,500m final saw the rise of their American rivals, both softly-spoken and understated.
Nuguse couldn't be a better foil to the hyper-confidence of Kerr and Ingebrigtsen, always open about how running is not the main calling in his life. Beyond the sport, he has that ongoing dentistry dream – he plans to quit running and go back to school before turning 30 – and spends time looking after his pet tortoise, Tyro, whose journey in and out of hibernation is being chronicled on Nuguse's Instagram.
Like his beloved Tyro, the 25-year-old sometimes likes to take things slow. He prides himself on approaching his running career with a relaxed attitude, even in the pressure cooker of the world's most high-stakes races.
'I think I do a really good job of focusing on the stuff I can control and what's actually important in the moment,' says Nuguse.
'For me, every waking moment of my life doesn't need to be spent worrying about running or the next race or being that uptight or serious. I've always generally had a very chill personality, just very go with the flow, it is what it is, and tackle the things that I can when they come.'
But don't be fooled into thinking that Nuguse doesn't care or that he isn't gripped by a burning desire to win each time he steps onto the track.
'I never really considered myself as an insanely competitive person,' he says. 'It wasn't really until I started running, and especially at the very beginning, I was just like, none of this really matters anyway. You're just running on a track.
'But every race, no matter what, I felt like I just instinctively had to take it so seriously. I think that kind of grew, cultivated, and really just became the competitive person I am now … For me, the important thing is just staying relaxed, staying calm, and then really letting it all out on the track.'
Dathan Ritzenhein, Nuguse's coach out of the Colorado-based On Athletics Club (OAC), has time and again seen evidence of his athlete's drive and determination.
'Yared's tougher than almost anybody,' Ritzenhein said after last month's indoor mile world record. 'When he really wants it, he's an ultimate competitor – just so good.'
Nuguse has been with OAC since 2022, establishing himself as one of the world's top mile and 1,500m runners in that time. With last year's Olympic bronze medal, his self-belief has only grown, and he says with complete confidence that he is 'capable of beating anyone' on any given day.
The coming months will provide numerous chances to prove that. Nuguse has signed up to race in the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track, a new league launched by sprinting great Michael Johnson, and will go up against Hocker and Kerr, among others, across four meets.
Beyond that, there's also the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September.
'I do think I'm definitely in a position to be winning at those championships,' says Nuguse. 'I think a lot of the time, I came into these races knowing that I could win, and then I was going to go for it the best that I could.
'But now I have this bronze medal. I know I'm top-three-in-the-world quality. So now it's just a matter of being in the right race and really getting to earn a gold medal.'
Records and medals, though, have never been Nuguse's ultimate goal in his running career. Rule number one is to have fun and enjoy each moment while he can. In the near future, probably after the next Olympic cycle in 2028, dentistry will come calling.
'It's always what I wanted to do,' Nuguse says. 'It's what I actually was going to do instead of running professionally, just go straight into dental school. But luckily, running professionally knocked a little louder than dental school did, and I figured I could come back to it later.
'I think I'd rather just be able to end on my terms also. It feels like I'm not just stringing this out for as long as I can feasibly make it happen. I have other things I want to do, and I am going to do them, but I'm willing to enjoy running as much as I can first.'
The longer he continues to enjoy his running, the more you think Nuguse will be able to achieve in his career. This season, he seems on track to add world championship honors to his NCAA, American, and Diamond League titles – plus the Olympic bronze.
Which, it's fair to say, isn't bad for a former bowls player.
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Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Solve the daily Crossword
