The On Athletics Club cemented its name in the record books Saturday night at the Millrose Games in New York City.
Former Notre Dame star Yared Nuguse notched his second American record in as many months, running 3:47.38 to win the men’s Wanamaker mile.
It’s the second-fastest indoor mile of all time (Yomif Kejelcha’s world record is 3:47.01).
Nuguse, who described himself as “not too excitable” about big races and pressure, was relatively unphased after his win.
“It’s cool,” Nuguse said about being faster than outdoor record holder Hicham El Guerrouj over the indoor mile. “To do this in the event I love the most, in the event I’m going to be going for at Worlds, that makes me feel even better.”
Nuguse’s teammates Olli Hoare of Australia and Mario Garcia Romo of Spain finished third and fifth in 3:50.83 and 3:51.79 — and Hoare’s time was the exact time he ran to win the Wanamaker Mile last year.
All three times were national records. It’s entirely possible that, come the World Championships this summer, we see all three men in the 1500m final.
Nuguse missed the Olympic Games in 2021 with an injury after qualifying and didn’t qualify for the 2022 Oregon World Championships.
Nuguse said he’s been enjoying the transition to a professional career after graduating from Notre Dame last spring and said he knows he has the potential to be competitive on a major world stage.
“Yared has a lot he wants to prove,” Hoare said. “He wants to go and represent the US and win medals cause he knows he can do it.”
Between Nuguse, Hoare and Romo, the On Athletics Club may have the most dangerous 1500m squad in the world, and after the race, Hoare issued a challenge to 1500m Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
“I hope he’s a little scared,” Hoare said. “Hopefully [Nuguse’s record] will encourage Jakob to not dodge but to win a race against us. I know he’s watching and I hope he enjoys the show. He’ll see us very soon.”
Hoare said he’s extremely happy for Nuguse’s success but will still “go back to the drawing board” to try and beat his teammate in the future.
“We’re all good mates,” Hoare said. “But at the end of the day when we get to the start line, we’re not friends, we’re competitors, and when we cross that finish line we’re mates again.”
It wasn’t just the OAC men who had a day at Millrose. Alicia Monson set her first indoor American record, outkicking the 3000m field in 8:25.05.
“Towards the end I was watching the clock, I was just trying to stick on it,” she said.
Monson raced the mile at The Armory track two weeks ago and said her opening 800 of that race helped her on Saturday.
“This track the fans are right on top of you and it makes it so much better,” Monson said. “The last couple laps when I knew that people were cheering me on, it was just so great.”
Despite running the 10,000m at the World Championships and Olympics, Monson has had considerable success over the 3000m and the 5000m in the past few years — and now has an American record to show for it.
“I’ve always had this secret confidence in myself over the shorter distances that might not really show to everyone,” Monson said.
Monson praised the American women distance scene for keeping her motivated.
“The international field is so competitive that it takes a lot of work to get up there,” she said. “I think the American women on the distance side are really growing and I’m really excited about where we’re at and what we’re looking towards at worlds this year and the Olympics next year.”
In the 3000m, Joe Klecker of On finished third in 7:34.14 — the fourth fastest U.S. indoor 3000m time ever.
Klecker is finished with his indoor season and will run the 10,000m in three weeks at Sound Running to try to hit the Olympic standard — 27 minutes flat.
“I fully trust myself to run 27 minutes and even run a bit under it,” Klecker said. “I just wanna be smart and hit that Olympic standard more than anything.”
All the On athletes shared a common mentality in their interviews: On head coach Dathan Ritzenhein knows what he’s doing, which is leading to all these fast times.
“OAC and On now have such a high standard,” Hoare said. “Hopefully, those standards will start to see results and multiple medals for our team.”
“I don’t know how Ritz would deal with that,” Hoare said, chuckling. “But that’s the exciting thing about being with a team.”
