CRAWFORD | Nuguse says return to Louisville makes Olympic achievement 'a lot more real'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Yared Nuguse says his life hasn’t changed much since a stirring, national televised finish to take the bronze medal in the 1500 in the Paris Olympics last month.

"Honestly, it's been pretty normal," he said. "I only just finished my running season this weekend, so a lot of it has been normal training and stuff. But I'll get recognized at the grocery store a lot more, or little things like that. People are like, 'Oh my God, it's Yared.' And I'll be like, 'Oh, hi. What's up?'"

But on Monday at his old high school, duPont Manual, Nuguse got the full celebrity treatment. He was named a Distinguished Louisvillian by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. He was lauded by Manual alum and U.S. Representative for the 3rd District Morgan McGarvey. And he was informed that JCPS has voted to rename its annual championship meet the "Yared Nuguse JCPS Cross-Country Championships."

Not to mention the several hundred students awaiting selfies, autographs and high fives.

Manual cross-country coach Tim Holman, who was there in Paris when Nuguse raced and celebrated with him afterward, drew plenty of praise for fishing Nuguse off the bowling team at Manual to start his running career, never dreaming that a day like this would come.

But Holman made clear, it's who Nuguse is, more than what he has done, that inspired the kind of welcome home he got on Monday.

"I know that we're celebrating the amazing accomplishments of this young man right here," Holman said. "But the reality is, who Yared is as a person actually has nothing to do with how fast he can run. It has to do with what a good friend he is, what a hard worker he is, how when he sets his mind to a task, he accomplishes that. He went to Notre Dame, graduated cum laude in biochemistry. This is a brilliant young man, and as much time as he's spending running, he's going to spend a lot more in a dental office someday. That's still the plan, right?"

Nuguse smiled and nodded.

"If there's one bit of credit Manual deserves and that JCPS deserves, it's the universe of possibilities that are available here," Holman said. "When you're a JCPS student, you have a limitless potential for what you can accomplish, what you can go on and achieve."

If anyone had any doubts, all they had to do was look at Nuguse, bronze medal around his neck. Nuguse had no thought of athletics when he enrolled at Manual. He was focused on a dental career, and thought he might pick up a sport to have fun, and to have as an extracurricular activity. He did bowl for a bit, until a P.E. teacher noticed how fast he ran in class.

Soon, Nuguse was running, and did not stop. Through state championships. NCAA championships. U.S. championships. The Olympics.

"It’s been a long time since the Olympics, and I've just been taking it in for what it is, and just really believing internally that I am an Olympic bronze medalist," Nuguse said. "But I think seeing you all here just kind of solidifies that for me a little bit. I think every time I see some of the people who supported me along the way, I think it all just kind of makes it a lot more real. So, thank you all so much for that."

Nuguse is taking a month off of training before getting back to work. He has designs on continuing his pro career, and sounds as if he’s not stopping anytime soon. On Monday, he said he has his eyes on Los Angeles in 2028.

He spoke with Manual’s current cross-country team before Monday’s celebration. 

Once in front of the crowd, he told students not to be afraid to do difficult things. He wanted to be a part of the Math Science Technology program but as a violin player, he also wanted to be a part of the Youth Performing Arts School. He was told doing both would be too hard, but he still managed to be an MST student while taking a music class through YPAS.

At Notre Dame, his coaches advised him that pursuing a biochemistry degree would be difficult with his training schedule, and that there were easier routes to dental school.

"But it was more than that. I'd wanted to do biochemistry, and I knew that I was capable of doing anything I set my mind to," Nuguse said. "So, I did do biochemistry. I did do well, and I was able to perform well in running at the same time."

After college, he said he was told that the American record for the mile was probably not going to fall.

"But I was just like, 'No, I feel like no one's been brave enough to go for it yet,'" Nuguse said. "So, when I shattered the American record last year, that was just a huge moment for me, and really propelled me into this amazing season that I've had this year. So, I will reiterate that anything truly is possible. I may have not thought that I could be an Olympian when I was in high school, because that was not really my trajectory. But once I wanted to do it, I knew that I could make it happen. And now to finally come away as an Olympic medalist is really huge. And to know I still have another huge Olympics in L.A. coming up, where hopefully I'll be a more fully formed runner at that point, makes me really excited.”

Nuguse thanked his teachers and coaches. He thanked his parents, family and extended family who were present. He thanked Louisville’s Ethiopian Tigray community for its support. He thanked Notre Dame. He thanked everybody, particularly Holman, "for being an amazing like coach and friend to me these last few years, even after Manual."

It's very easy to celebrate a person like Nuguse. It would have been easy if he’d finished a blink of an eye slower in the Olympic 1500 final – but in this case, the ending was happy, and deserved.

"Those last 100 meters were just very surreal," Nuguse said. "Kind of like, 'You’ve got to go for it right now kind of moment. I think I really felt like the power of the moment a little bit and just gave it everything I had. I think when I got to third, I was just like, 'Yeah, keep going. Don't let off. Anything can happen.' And then it’s all kind of fuzzy, you know? You cross that line and you're just like, 'Oh my God. It's happened.'"

That was the moment we all saw. The whole world saw. We don’t really see Nuguse now, his bronze medal hanging on his lamp at home.

"I’ve got to get a nice little thing for it," he said.

We also didn’t see a quieter moment, before Nuguse was in front of the crowd on Monday, when he spoke to a bunch of cross-country runners like he used to be, telling them them about the love of the sport.

"I really wanted to reiterate the 'have fun' point of cross country, especially," he said. "I feel like a lot of time you can get really stressed, especially in your teens, about just like, 'I’ve got to perform to the best of my ability,' and whatnot. But you know, at the end of the day, cross country should be a fun sport for everyone. Running should be a fun sport for everyone. And I think that once you accept that for what it is, it becomes like such an invaluable sport."

And if they didn’t know that by Nuguse’s words on Monday, they could see it when he smiled. Nobody in that room may share his speed. But they can share his joy in the race.

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