Yared Nuguse and Gracie Morris take elite victories at the New Balance 5th Ave Mile in New York City

Yared Nuguse ran 3:47.7 to win the men's race at the 5th Ave Mile on Sunday (Sept 7) as Gracie Morris overtook long-time leader and defending champion Karissa Schweizer to take the women's race in 4:15.5.

It meant they became the first American duo to sweep the main titles in this race since 2016.

Making his 5th Avenue Mile debut, Nuguse pulled away from fellow Americans Parker Wolfe — the 2024 NCAA 5000m champion — and Drew Hunter — the 2025 NACAC Championships 5000m champion — in the final metres, running the third-fastest time in event history.

In total 23 men broke four minutes, the most in 5th Avenue Mile history. In the battle for second place, Wolfe out-leaned Hunter at the line with both men running 3:48.1 as Ireland's Nick Griggs finished fourth.

“I like the idea of racing a fun race,” said Nuguse, who missed out on a place in the US team for the World Champs, which start in Tokyo in a few days' time. “I did want to win, I did want to come here and do everything I could, but I wanted to have a really enjoyable time and I’ve heard that 5th Ave is a really fun vibe.”

After finishing fifth last year, Morris timed her finish kick perfectly to outpace Kayley Delay and last year’s winner Schweizer to win her first 5th Avenue Mile title, also running the third-fastest time in event history.

The victory marked Morris’s third consecutive mile victory in the last month, following her wins at the Sir Walter Mile and Guardian Mile in August. Delay and Schweizer were separated by two tenths of a second, running 4:17.4 and 4:17.6.

“I've been a little bit riskier in my races and trying to put myself more towards the front — even in bigger fields that are kind of intimidating to me and just showing myself that I belong in them,” said Morris.

New York Road Runners, the organisers, hosted more than 9000 athletes on Sunday. The event, which has taken place since 1981, featured 30 heats of one-mile races down Manhattan’s famed Fifth Avenue, stretching 20 blocks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to Grand Army Plaza.