Nia Akins

Nia Akins (born 7 July 1998) is an American track and field athlete. In 2023, she became the United States national champion over 800m; both indoors and outdoors.

Early life
From San Diego, the daughter of Nicol Hodges, she attended Rancho Bernardo High School before attending the University of Pennsylvania in 2016. On May 18, 2020, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing.

Career
Competing at a collegiate level, was a two-time NCAA 800m runner-up. At the 2019 NACAC U23 Championships she won a silver medal in the 800m in Queretaro, Mexico.

Akins was the only runner to turn pro in 2020, having run the second-fastest 800m time in NCAA history of 2:00.71 at the Boston Invitational. She moved to Seattle to train under Danny Mackey with the Brooks Beasts Track Club, alongside athletes such as Olympic medalist Josh Kerr, and Allie Ostrander.

In July 2022, she ran a new personal best time of 1:58.78 in Memphis, Tennessee.

In February 2023, Akins won the US national indoor 800m title, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She started her 2023 outdoor season with victories at both of her outdoor 800m races, running a 1:59.37 at the Portland Track Festival and then a 1:59.76 in Portland on June 24, 2023.

Competing at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Eugene, Oregon, she reached the final of the 800m competition as the fastest qualifier and won the final ahead of Raevyn Rogers. She was selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August 2023. She ran a new personal best in the final, running 1:57.73 in finishing sixth. She also made her Diamond League debut in August 2023, finishing fourth in the 800 metres in Zürich.

Aikens won the 800m at the US trials in Eugene, Oregon, on 24 June 2024, to secure a place at the Paris Olympics.

Personal life
Akins is also a musician who records her own music.