By info.tzupdates@gmail.com 
Yared Nuguse never dreamed of being a professional runner, let alone an Olympic medalist. Aged 14, his sporting achievements amounted to a spot on the high school bowls team, while his modest career plans involved becoming a dentist.
But life has a funny way of taking unlikely turns, our hidden talents unearthed in places we never expect. For a teenage Nuguse, “scrawny” and with little care for sports, the idea that he would one day become an elite middle-distance athlete – and among the best in the world, no less – was laughable.
It’s a good job, then, that he took it upon himself to blaze around the running track in a high school mile race, all in the name of getting an A in PE. Looking on at the time, his teacher saw who he hoped would be the track team’s latest recruit.
“He was quite convincing, fortunately, and he got me to join the team,” Nuguse tells CNN Sport. “And from then on, I just fell in love with running.”
After showing early promise as a high school student in Louisville, Kentucky, Nuguse competed for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning an NCAA title in the 1,500 meters in 2019. From there, a career in running beckoned, along with the fitting label of “America’s accidental champion.”
“It’s been a crazy journey, one that I never really saw coming or expected,” says Nuguse. “But it’s one that I’m really glad I gave a chance because I would be in a completely different space right now if I hadn’t.