Nikki Hiltz, a transgender and non-binary middle-distance runner, ran the second-fastest time ever for an American in the women's 1,500 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials on Sunday, securing a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Hiltz, who uses “they/them” pronouns, overtook Elle St. Pierre and Emily McKay in the final straight of the race to finish in a Trials record time of 3 hours, 55 minutes and 33 seconds. All eight finishers beat their personal best times, according to Outsports. Paris will be Hiltz's Olympic debut.
In an interview with NBC Sports after the race, the 29-year-old Hiltz said the race meant more than just being a personal achievement.
“This isn't just about me. It's the last day of Pride Month. … I wanted to run this race for my community,” they said. “To all the LGBT people, you all got me through the last 100 miles. [meters]”I could feel the love and support.”
Hiltz said Elle St. Pierre, who was the top American in the 1,500 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, finishing third, inspired her and the others to go faster. St. Pierre led for much of the race, completing the first lap in 61 seconds.
“Elle St-Pierre has raised the bar for women's distance running. I saw her times and I didn't think it was possible,” Hiltz told NBC Sports. “She has forced all of us to raise the bar. … We have a great team to send to Paris.”
Pierre and runner-up Emily MacKay also qualified for the Paris Olympics on Sunday.
In a social media post on Monday, Hiltz said qualifying for the Paris Olympics was a childhood dream come true.
“I don't know when this will fully sink in,” they wrote. “All I know today is that I woke up feeling grateful for my family and friends, overwhelmed with love and support, and happy to be able to earn a living racing with people I love and respect so dearly.”
The International Olympic Committee will update its rules regarding transgender athletes in 2021, deferring to the discretion of each sport's governing body.
World Athletics, the world's governing body for athletics, adopted a policy last year that bars transgender women who have gone through puberty as males from competing in women's athletics events. Transgender men can compete in men's events if they submit a signed declaration of their gender identity.
World Athletics' policy doesn't specifically mention non-binary athletes — people who identify as neither exclusively male nor exclusively female — but non-binary athletes who were assigned female at birth are generally allowed to compete in the women's divisions as long as they're not taking hormone therapy.
Hiltz isn't the first non-binary athlete to compete in the Olympics. Canadian soccer star Quinn became the first openly transgender and non-binary athlete to compete in the 2022 Tokyo Olympics. They later became the first transgender athletes to win an Olympic medal when Canada beat Sweden 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
Quinn was one of at least 186 LGBTQ athletes who competed in the Tokyo Olympics, according to Outsports. Hiltz is not the only LGBTQ athlete to have qualified for the Paris Olympics so far. Germany's Timo Kabelius will become the first openly gay man to compete in Olympic judo, according to Outsports.
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