Brussels DL Men — Nuguse Keeps Tokyo Hopes Alive

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, August 22 — In a thrilling DL 1500 Yared Nuguse could only finish 3rd but kept alive his dream of going to Tokyo via the back door. The Olympic bronze medalist secured enough points to make the DL Final in Zürich. Should he thread the needle to win there, a Wild Card invitation to the WC would follow.

However, next week is winner-takes-all and Nuguse must work out a way to get past the two youngsters who finished in front of him in the Belgian capital: the prodigious pair of the Netherlands’ Niels Laros and Kenya’s Phanuel Koech, just 20 and 18.

Nuguse was well-placed in 4th at the bell as Laros and Koech dueled in front of him, and the 1100 split of 2:37.0 fit well within the American’s usual comfort zone.

However, when Laros pushed the accelerator off the final bend, Nuguse was caught just a little short of speed despite his well-known fast finish.

Laros crossed the line in 3:30.58 and also showed Koech a clean pair of heels. The Kenyan finished 2nd in 3:31.41 while Nuguse clawed back some of the deficit over the final 50 and came home in 3:31.51.

“It was a busy and hectic race, but I was able to come through in a strong way like I wanted to,” Nuguse said. “After my win in Silesia, I was almost sure of my spot at the Diamond League Final, but this 3rd place will get me to Zürich for sure. Now, I’m gonna get some rest and recover. We’re all feeling the same way, so the recovery will be crucial.”

Vernon Norwood finds himself in the same situation as Nuguse if he is to bag himself a place in the Tokyo individual 400 after his 4th-place finish at the U.S. Trials earlier this month.

Norwood finished 2nd over one lap of the track in the famed King Badouin Stadium in 44.62 but was handily beaten by USATF winner Jacory Patterson, who won impressively in 44.05, his second-fastest time ever.

Starting in lane 7, Patterson was out fast from the gun and passed Norwood on his outside by the middle of the backstraight. He continued to pour it on around the final furlong.

The victory also earned Patterson a berth in the DL Final and in his current form he could be the one to thwart Norwood’s chances of a 4th individual outing at a World Champs and a chance of getting on the podium in his own right after so many relay successes following his 4th at the ’23 World Champs.

“I always said that I wanted to run at a…