Nonbinary runner, Nikki Hiltz, is headed to the Paris Olympics after a record-breaking 1500-meter U.S. Olympic Trials race.
The 29-year-old middle-distance runner set a new record of 3:53.33 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field on June 30, 2024. Hiltz defeated competitors Elle St. Pierre, Emily Mackay, and 2020 Olympian Heather Maclean. Despite the four competitors holding out in a tie at the bell lap of the race, Hiltz pulled ahead in the final 100 meters.
“This is bigger than just me. It’s the last day of Pride month. I wanted to run this one for my community…all the LGBTQ folks. You guys brought me home that last hundred. I could just feel the love and support.” Hiltz told NBC Sports.
Hiltz not only outran their competitors, but they also set the record as the second fastest American in the 1500m race. Elle St. Pierre set the previous record of 3:58.03 in 2021. Hiltz has demonstrated spectacular performance in this particular event over the last couple of years winning three consecutive championships in the women’s category.
In 2023, they became the first out nonbinary person to win a national track and field championship title. They hold four USATF national titles and were awarded Silver at the World Athletics Indoor World Championships for the 1500m race in February. Their record at the Olympic Trials positions them with the fifth-fastest performance in the world for the 2024 Outdoor Season.
Nikki Hiltz first came out as nonbinary in an Instagram post in 2021:
“Hi I’m Nikki and I’m transgender. That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is non-binary.”
Hiltz’s partner, Emma Gee—the first out LGBTQ+ student-athlete at Brigham Young University—congratulated them for their record-breaking win in several posts to Instagram as well:
“Y’all they are headed to Paris. Nikki Hiltz is an Olympian.”
“I’m not sure when this will fully sink in…” Hiltz posted to social media on Monday. “All I know is today I’m waking up just so grateful for my people, overwhelmed by all the love and support, and filled with joy that I get to race people I deeply love and respect around a track for a living.”
Nikki Hiltz will compete in the Paris Olympics on August 6th, 2024. They will participate in the Women’s U.S. Track and Field Olympics Team 15oom event.
