NEW YORK CITY, September 07 — This was not where Yared Nuguse expected to be ending his season, but he made the most of a late opportunity to win his debut in the 5th Avenue Mile. Meanwhile, up-and-coming Gracie Morris made a statement with an upset victory in the women’s division. Despite light rain and a wet course, times were fast in the 20-block straight shoot over the mostly downhill posh Manhattan boulevard.
Nuguse, the Olympic bronze medalist in the 1500, had spent the last several weeks on a mission to win the DL Final, his last chance to nab a spot at the World Championships. After running out of gas in the homestretch of the 1500 at the USATF Championships, his 5th-place showing in Eugene left him off the squad for Tokyo. He was unable to take the win in Zürich, which is when race organizers New York Road Runners reached out with an offer. “I heard that 5th Avenue has really fun vibes,” Nuguse said of his decision to finish up an at-times frustrating season in NYC.
When the gun went off, he held the center spot in a crowded pack that stretched across the roadway. All 24 men seemed content to sit back, save for France’s Flavien Szot, who briefly surged in front to take the halfway leader’s $1000 bonus. Szot soon rejoined the pack, which remained together for another quarter mile.
Parker Wolfe finally made the first significant move, coming off the far right of the field in an attempt to grind out a win. It nearly worked, but Nuguse was able to rally in the final strides with a closing burst that took him across the line in 3:47.7, becoming the first American man to win on 5th Avenue since Eric Jenkins in ’16.
Wolfe took 2nd, inches ahead of Drew Hunter, with both clocking 3:48.1. Ireland’s Nick Griggs (3:48.4) and Kenya’s Festus Lagat (3:48.4) rounded up the top 5. World Indoor 800 champion Josh Hoey, who like Nuguse came up short in his quest for a Wild Card after a disappointing showing at USAs, had been well positioned for most of the race, but faded late and placed 13th in 3:51.9.
Nuguse was happy to end his season on a winning note. “Especially with Tokyo happening after this, I was going to be a little bummed not being there,” he said. “So to come away with a win at a race like this where there were so many good guys out here, feels nice. This year still went very well despite the challenges.” He admitted that the Grand Slam season in the spring forced him to alter his ideal racing schedule, but his ’25 still had many highlights, including a third-straight Wanamaker Mile title (in a then-World Indoor Record 3:46.63), a new PR in the 800 at the Miami Grand Slam (1:44.77) and the fourth Diamond League win of his career, in Chorzów.
“I would also argue that the U.S. is just really, really good right now,” he said of his mindset in not making the WC team. “The USA is just getting better and better and it excites me. USAs is going to be really hard [going forward] and I have to lock in for it.”
Wolfe was equally pleased with his effort, given that he had to reboot after a foot injury that put an end to his planned NCAA 5000 title defense in June. “I think the biggest [takeaway] for me is that even after having a rocky season I can still come out here and compete really well off of very little training,” said the UNC grad, who placed 3rd in the Olympic Trials 5000 last year but didn’t have the qualification standard or WA ranking for Paris. “I’m ready to have some consistency and getting back to kicking some ass.”
In the women’s race, Karissa Schweizer was also coming off a less-than-satisfying showing at USATF, placing 6th in both the 5000 and 10,000. She arrived in New York as the defending champion on 5th Avenue, having equaled the course record (4:14.8) in a dominant win in ’24.
In an attempt to replicate that — and knowing she doesn’t have the pure speed of her middle-distance rivals — she took the race out hard, immediately opening up a 10-meter gap on the field. “I noticed that I was able get a little bit of a gap, so I kept trying to not settle and keep pushing,” said the 2-time Olympian.
By the time she cruised to the halfway bonus, only Morris had made any attempt to track her. “When I saw her running for the halfway bonus I knew I needed to stay a little patient,” said Morris, a first-year pro out of TCU who never made it past the heats during her NCAA career. “And right around 1200 I knew that’s a key point in this race, so I just started pressing.”
With less than 300m to go she finally caught up — and sailed past — Schweizer. Morris crossed the line in 4:15.5, the third-fastest time in event history.
Kayley DeLay (4:17.4) emerged from the chase group to catch a tiring Schweizer (4:17.6). Eleanor Fulton (4:18.9) and Laurie Barton (4:20.6) followed, while Raevyn Rogers (4:22.2), the Olympic bronze medalist in the 800 in ’21 who rarely races this long, looked impressive in 7th.
Morris first showed national class promise by finishing 5th in this race a year ago. After placing 9th in the USATF 1500 this summer, she lowered her mile PR to 4:23.74 with a win at the Sir Walter Miler meet in North Carolina. “This is one the best seasons I have had, just confidence wise and having consistency,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’ve had a bad race.”
Nuguse and Morris each pocketed $5000 for their wins.
