Nikki Hiltz

Nikki Hiltz (born October 23, 1994) is an American middle-distance runner specializing in the 1500 meters and mile. Hiltz holds the American record in the mile and is the 2023 US 1500 m champion. They won a silver medal at the 2024 World Indoor Championships.

Hiltz competed collegiately for the Oregon Ducks and Arkansas Razorbacks and is openly lesbian. They came out as transgender and nonbinary on International Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2021.

High school
While attending Aptos Middle School, Hiltz ran a 400 m in 1:07.41 (2009), an 800 m in 2:51.54 (2008), a high jump of 1.37 m (2009), and long jump of 3.94 m (2008). As Aptos High School, Hiltz won 6 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Central Coast Section titles.

University (Oregon / Arkansas)
Hiltz is a 6 time NCAA Division I All-American. Hiltz began their college career at Oregon in 2014 before transferring to Arkansas in 2016.

At the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Hiltz finished in 8th place with a time of 4:38.47 in the mile for the Oregon Ducks. Hiltz was a 2015 NCAA Division 1 & Pac-12 Conference Track and Field Team Champion as a member of the Oregon Ducks at the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

After the 2015 season, Hiltz transferred to Arkansas. In 2016 Hiltz, along with Arkansas Razorbacks teammates Daina Harper, Therese Haiss and Jessica Kamilos, placed 5th in the DMR (Distance Medley Relay) with a time of 10:59.22 at the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships. Hiltz placed 6th in the mile, finishing with a time of 4:34.57 at the 2017 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.

In 2018, Hiltz earned First Team NCAA Division I All-America honors in the 1500m Outdoors at the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Hiltz also placed 3rd in the mile at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.

2018
In 2018, Hiltz signed with Adidas and trained with The Mission Athletics Club, now known as The Golden Coast Track Club based in California after running a 1500 m time ranked in the top 100 in the world. In January of the same year they ran a then-personal best 2:05.16 in the 800 m. Later in the year Hiltz ran the Aetna Falmouth Mile placing 4th in 4:32.29. They followed up with a 5th-place finish at the Memphis Ed Murphey Mile with a time of 4:32.59. They also ran the Bay Shore Hoka One Long Island Mile placing 12th in 4:39.23. Hiltz ranked 92nd in the world in the 1500 m with a personal best of 4:09.14.

2019
Hiltz ran an indoor 3000 m (9:04.32) at the JDL Fast Track Invitational, won the indoor mile (4:31.42) at the Husky Classic, and at the 2019 USA Track & Field Indoor Championships placed 5th in the mile (4:32.40) and 15th in the 2 mile (9:55.50). Later that year, Hiltz won the 800 m (2:01.37) at the 2019 Bryan Clay Invitational, won the 1500 m (4:07.71) at the 2019 USATF Distance Classic, runner-up in the 1500 m (4:05.56) at 2019 Portland Track Festival, won the 800 m (2:02.93) at the 2019 Adrian Martinez Classic, won the 1500 m (4:05.97) at the 2019 Sunset Tour. They also placed 3rd in the 1500 m (4:03.55) at the 2019 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Hiltz ranked 19th in the world in the 1500 m with a personal best of 4:01.52 in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Athletics Championships.

2020
Hiltz ran the mile at the Millrose Games in 4:24.45, splitting a 1500 m time of 4:07.09 and placing 5th with an indoor personal best.

2021
In New York, Hiltz competed in the 1500 m at New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. At the 2021 United States Olympic trials, Hiltz contested both the 800 m and 1500 m. They failed to qualify for the final in either event placing 13th in the 1500 m and 17th in the 800 m.

2022
In the summer of 2022, no longer sponsored by Adidas, Hiltz announced that they had signed with LuluLemon. On September 11, Hiltz finished second in the 2022 the Fifth Avenue Mile in 4:17.4 behind winner Laura Muir.

2023
Nikki Hiltz won their first outdoor USATF Outdoor National Championship title in the 1500 in 4:03.10, moving from 3rd to 1st in the last 300m. On July 21, 2023, Hiltz finished 6th in the mile at the Monaco Diamond League in a time of 4:16.35, a personal best, North American Area Record and an American Record.

2024
In the first race of the 2024 season, Hiltz won the 1,000-meter run at the Mile City Mayhem Event at the UW Invitational in 2:34.09, setting a personal best and American Indoor Record.

In an effort to test endurance, Hiltz decided to contest the 2 mile at the 2024 Millrose Games rather than their specialty event, the mile. Competing on February 11, they placed 4th in a time 9:15.80 which improved upon their personal best set in 2019 by almost 40 seconds. The following week, Nikki contested the 1500 m at the US Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, successfully defending their US indoor title in a time of 4:08.35. Placing top two, alongside Emily Mackay, qualified Hiltz to compete at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow.

In the qualifying round, on March 1, Hiltz posted fastest time of the heats, running an indoor personal best of 4:04.34. In the final, Hiltz took second place behind Freweyni Hailu in a personal best of 4:02.32, earning a first global medal and becoming the first American to medal in the event since Regina Jacobs in 2003. Hiltz was joined on the podium by fellow American Emily Mackay who took bronze.



In the 2024 US Olympic Trials, Hiltz competed in the 1500m run and made it though the preliminaries and semifinals. In the final, Hiltz won in a time of 3:55.33, thereby making the Olympic Team, and also setting a new trials record.

Personal life
In 2020, Hiltz organized Virtual Pride 5k races and donated proceeds to the Trevor Project, a non-profit organization founded in 1998 focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. Thousands of people supported the race.

Since 2020, Hiltz has been in a relationship with Emma Gee, the first openly LGBT student-athlete to compete for Brigham Young University. Gee later competed for Temple University where she qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.