Yared Nuguse smashes American indoor 3,000m record

On Friday night, at the Boston University Terrier Classic in Boston, Yared Nuguse of Louisville, Ky., went into the American history books, smashing Galen Rupp’s American 3,000m indoor record in 7:28.24. 

AMERICAN RECORD* 🚨

The Goose let loose! Yared Nuguse bettered Galen Rupp’s Indoor 3,000m record with a 7:28.24 in Boston – the fastest 3,000m indoor or outdoor 🤯

*Pending verification by the USATF Records Committee

📸: @Justin_Britton for @CitiusMag #JourneyToGold pic.twitter.com/1BVYtnPO7j

— USATF (@usatf) January 28, 2023

Nuguse beat Rupp’s previous American record of 7:30.16 from 2013 by almost two seconds, and his time moves into #9 on the all-time 3,000m list, just ahead of Eliud Kipchoge.

Nuguse is a middle-distance runner who trains in Boulder, Colo., with On Athletics Club and specializes in the 1,500 metres. In 2020, he qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in the 1,500m by finishing third at the U.S. Olympic Trials. He did not participate in Tokyo due to a quad injury.

To put his new record in perspective, Nuguse, remarkably, held a sub-four-minute-mile pace for seven minutes and 28 seconds. 

Nuguse and On Athletics Club made headlines this week after they posted a video of six men, including Nuguse, breaking four minutes in a mile during a workout while at altitude. 

Last year on the same BU track, Nuguse set the NCAA 3,000m record with a time of 7:38.13. His NCAA record held up until it was, ironically, broken in the same race he set the American record in, by Drew Bosley of Northern Arizona University, who finished behind Nuguse in 7:36.42.

The Canadian record for 3,000m indoors is 7:40.11 and is held by 2020 Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Moh Ahmed.