USATF Includes NCAA Star in World Athletics Indoor Championship Roster After He Almost Surpasses Yared Nuguse
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The USATF Indoor Championship saw an apex-level performance from the American Goose, Yared Nuguse in the men’s 3000m race. Interestingly, however, Nuguse, who has found himself almost eclipsing world records, was almost overtaken by a fellow compatriot. Moreover, the Wisconsin Badgers runner was less than half a second away from victory.
While Yared Nuguse clinched the USATF Indoor Championship gold with a time of 7:55.76, Olin Hacker cracked the race in 7:56.22. Owing to this feat, a social media post has revealed that the distance running star has been selected for the World Athletics Indoor Championship. In fact, this is the first time the NCAA athlete has made it to the global event.
When Yared Nuguse was forced to push harder
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Olin Hacker took to Instagram and added a new post with the caption, “I’m going to Glasgow!! I have qualified to represent @usatf at the World Indoor Championships in the 3k. Very excited for this opportunity.” The distance runner’s post also carried a brightly smiling image of himself. Interestingly, this visual looked very similar to his post-race interview at the USATF Indoor Championship.
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Olin Hacker told Citius Mag, “It was actually relatively honest from the start. It wasn’t like fully Bunch so that was nice. I feel like early laps, I was just like I’m glad I’m training at altitude, this feels easy. It was all about positioning.” The USATF athlete further delved into why he wanted to run this race.
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Hacker continued, “One of the main reasons I wanted to run this race was to really practice racing best in America. Looking forward to this summer, but yeah I felt like I wanted to assert myself um, and just gain confidence from that.” Interestingly, Hacker was the original leader of the race. Moreover, he forced Yared Nuguse to quicken his pace to clinch the USATF indoor event.
The Wisconsin Badger had churned the pace down to 29.7 seconds and had almost won the top gold. However, the final 500 meters saw The Goose overtake him. With the indoor silver medal now, Hacker didn’t just gain confidence, but a spot amongst the global USATF squad. In fact, he is now among the top athletes alongside Noah Lyles who will go to Glasgow.
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The final USATF squad for the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championship
The final list of the USATF athletes who have made it to Glasgow carries a star-studded list of 57 contenders. Olin Hacker will be competing alongside 18 Tokyo Olympics veterans and 33 contenders from the 2023 WAC. The roster will also carry 16 contenders who were part of the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championship.
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While Hacker’s USATF run was against his national competitors, Glasgow will place him in front of several international stars. Thus, alongside Yared Nuguse, the Wisconsin Badger will also run against Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Josh Kerr, and many more. Will he be able to convert his national silver to international gold in Glasgow?
Written by:
Edited by:
Himanshu Sridhar