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Trans nonbinary runner Nikki Hiltz is headed to this year’s Paris Olympics after breaking a U.S. Olympic Trials record.
On Sunday, June 30, the middle distance track star held off competitors Emily Mackay and Elle St. Pierre in the final women’s 1,500-meter race in the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Although Hiltz, Mackay, and 2020 Olympian Heather MacLean briefly shared the lead while rounding the race’s bell lap, Hiltz ultimately pulled ahead in the final 100 meters and won, holding onto their 2023 national championship title.
“I told myself, I’m not going to think about all the love and support [I have] until 100 meters to go,’” Hiltz told reporters afterward, according to Runner’s World. “‘And then, at that moment, you can let it all fill you up and push you to the finish line.’ That’s exactly what I did, and I think that’s what brought me home.”
The 29-year-old finished in 3 minutes and 55.33 seconds — an Olympic Trials record, beating out a previous 3:58:03 record set by St. Pierre in 2021. Hiltz previously won three consecutive women’s 1,500-meter race national championships between 2021 and 2023. According to OutSports, their time yesterday was the second-fastest by an American in the event ever.
Needless to say, Hiltz’s time guaranteed them a spot at the Paris Olympics, marking the athlete’s first trip to the Olympic Games.
Nikki Hiltz Is Blazing a Trail
The transgender nonbinary runner has Olympic dreams and a penchant for giving back.
“I literally can’t believe it. I mean, this is bigger than me,” Hiltz told NBC Sports in another post-race interview. “It’s the last day of Pride month. I wanted to run this one for my community, and yeah, all the LGBTQ folks. You guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”
Hilt is no stranger to blazing a trail within the running world. In February 2023, they became the first out nonbinary person to win a national championship title in track and field. As they told Them in a 2023 Now Awards interview, providing queer visibility within the sport is on par with achieving record-breaking victories.
“I have all this privilege,” they told us. “I feel like I should be using it to help get more people in the door, and open the door to others… I always share, I always run with people… Whenever I can share miles with people and be in that suffering together, it feels very peaceful in a way.”
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