Nuguse's mile record* earns him USATF Athlete of the Week honors

INDIANAPOLIS — Bettering the ratified American record in the men's mile by almost three seconds, Yared Nuguse (Boulder, Colorado/USATF Colorado) earned recognition as the 33rd USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2023, his fourth such award this year.

Nuguse gave Norway's Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen all he could handle in the Bowerman Mile at the World Athletics Diamond League Final at Oregon's Hayward Field, clocking 3:43.97 to place second to Ingebrigtsen's 3:43.79. Nuguse chopped 2.94 seconds off the ratified AR of 3:46.91 that was set by Alan Webb at Brasschaat, Belgium, in 2007, and he also passed 1500 in 3:29.14, the third-fastest time ever by an American. His mile time moved him to No. 4 on the all-time world performer list.
 
Other top performances from last week:

• Chase Ealey bettered the American record in the women's shot put with a 20.76/68-1.5 to win the Diamond League title. It was the farthest throw in the world since 2015 and added 13cm to the previous AR, set in 2016 by Michelle Carter to win the Rio Olympic Games.
• Grant Fisher bettered the American record in the men's 3000 with a 7:25.47 to place third in the Diamond League final. Fisher's time is three seconds better than his unratified 7:28.48 from Monaco last year and 3.5 faster than the ratified AR of 7:29.00 by Bernard Lagat in 2010.
• Athing Mu bettered her own American record in the women's 800 with a 1:54.97 to win the Diamond League final. She took .07 off her previous best that was set in 2021 at the Pre Classic and remained undefeated in 11 races at Hayward Field.
• Sarah Biehl won the women's NACAC Mountain & Trail 50K title in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 5:10:26, breaking the course record and leading Team USATF to the title.
• Jeannie Rice, 75, won the women's 75-79 division at the USATF Masters 12K Championships in 54:53. Averaging well under 7:30 per mile for more than seven miles, Rice broke the 75-79 American record* by more than six minutes. Her age grading score of 104% was the highest ever recorded in American road racing.

*All records subject to USATF Records Committee verification
 
Now in its 22nd year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.

2023 Winners: January 17, Emily Sisson; January 24, Ednah Kurgat; January 31, Woody Kincaid; February 7, Grant Holloway; February 14, Yared Nuguse; February 21, Anna Hall; February 28, Talitha Diggs; March 7, Alicia Monson; March 14, Jasmine Moore; March 21, Keyzelle Thomas; March 28, Camille Herron; April 4, Hillary Bor; April 11, Valarie Allman; April 18, Britton Wilson; April 25, Brooke Andersen; May 2, Gabby Thomas; May 9, Connor Burns; May 16, Britton Wilson; May 23, Brooke Andersen; May 30, Ryan Crouser; June 6, KC Lightfoot; June 13, Grayson Murphy; June 20, Yared Nuguse; July 17, Gabby Thomas & Christian Miller; July 20, Ednah Kurgat; July 27, Nikki Hiltz; August 3, Quenton Lanese; August 10, Shawnti Jackson; August 17, Michelle Atherley; August 30, Ryan Crouser, Noah Lyles, Sha'Carri Richardson & Laulauga Tausaga-Collins; September 6, Yared Nuguse; September 13, Jenny Hitchings; September 20, Yared Nuguse.

We welcome your nominations!

To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.

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