Trans runner Nikki Hiltz earns spot in 2024 Paris Olympics
July 2, 2024Trans and nonbinary middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz clocked the second fastest time ever recorded by an American in the women’s 1500-meter race at the U.S.A. Olympic Trials on Sunday, earning a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
According to ‘NBC News’, Hiltz, who uses they/them pronouns, sprinted past Elle St. Pierre and Emily Mackay in the final stretch, finishing with a time of 3:55.33, setting a trials record. According to OutSports, all top eight finishers recorded new personal bests. Paris will be Hiltz’s first Olympic appearance.
In a post-race interview with NBC Sports, Hiltz, 29, emphasised that the race’s significance extended beyond their personal achievement.\
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“This is bigger than just me. It’s the last day of Pride Month. ... I wanted to run this one for my community,” they said. “All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support.”
Hiltz mentioned that Elle St. Pierre, who secured third place and was the top American finisher in the Tokyo Olympics women’s 1500, motivated them and the other runners to push harder. St. Pierre led for most of the race, completing the first lap in 61 seconds.
“Elle St. Pierre has elevated women’s distance running. I saw the time, and I didn’t think that was possible,” Hiltz told NBC Sports. “We all had to rise because of her. … Awesome team we’re sending to Paris.”
Both St. Pierre and the second-place finisher, Emily Mackay, also qualified for the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
In a social media post on Monday, Hiltz shared that qualifying for the Paris Olympics was a childhood dream come true.
“I’m not sure when this will fully sink in,” they wrote. “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.”
The International Olympic Committee updated its rules regarding transgender athletes in 2021, deferring to each sport’s governing body.
World Athletics, which oversees international track and field competitions, adopted a policy last year barring all trans women athletes who went through male puberty from competing in female track and field categories. Trans men are allowed to compete in male categories if they provide satisfactory signed declarations of their gender identities.
World Athletics’ policy doesn’t explicitly mention nonbinary athletes, but those assigned female at birth are generally permitted to compete in female categories if they haven’t undergone hormone therapy.
Hiltz won’t be the first nonbinary athlete to participate in the Olympics. Canadian soccer star Quinn became the first openly transgender and nonbinary athlete to compete in the Olympics in Tokyo in 2022. They also became the first trans athlete to win an Olympic medal when Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 in penalty kicks.
Quinn was among at least 186 out LGBTQ+ athletes at the Tokyo Games, according to OutSports. Hiltz isn’t the only LGBTQ+ athlete to qualify for the Paris Olympics so far. Timo Cavelius of Germany will be the first openly gay man to compete in Olympic judo, as noted by OutSports.
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