LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The record for the fastest mile run by an American now belongs to a duPont Manual High School alum. Yared Nuguse finished second to Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigsten in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday, but his time of 3:43.97 shaved nearly three seconds off the American record that had stood for 16 years.
"End of the season, amazing race, amazing time, everything," Nuguse said after finishing second to the third-fastest mile run on record. "I ran 3:43. Like, a second from the world record. I’m just, like, how the hell did I do that."
In the performance, Nuguse became just one of four men to break 3:44 in a mile and the only other one to do it in 24 years was the man who won the race.
After a preliminary race earlier in the week, Ingebrigsten told Nuguse, "Stick to me as long as you can, and we’ll get you sub-3:46."
The two got better than that in what figures to go down as an iconic running of the mile.
Earlier this year, Nuguse, who ran collegiately at Notre Dame, set a new American record for 3000 meters indoors, finishing in 7:28.23.
"The thing I really appreciate about Jakob is that he elevates all of us, and pushes us to achieve things that we wouldn’t otherwise achieve ..." Nuguse said. "I have this constant, little bit of self-doubt at all times. I have goals that I feel like are achievable and then I get to a certain time and it’s like, we’re not going to do that yet. I always think it will come later and it always ends up coming way sooner than I think. That’s basically been this entire year. I’ve been really, really happy."
Nuguse, who graduated from Manual in 2017 as a Kentucky state champion, now has risen to the top of American middle-distance running. At Notre Dame, he was voted ACC male track performer of the year multiple times.
"I just think having my last race (of the year) be at this huge meet running a spectacular time against the best competition the world has to offer is really exciting for me." Nuguse said. "It’s basically how I want to cap every season. ... To be on break after this is so exciting for me."
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