PARIS HERE THEY COME

The U.S. Has a New Transgender Olympian: Runner Nikki Hiltz

Nikki Hiltz, a transgender and nonbinary runner, has qualified to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games with a record-breaking time.

Nikki Hiltz, a transgender and nonbinary athlete competing for the U.S. women’s track team, is heading to Paris to compete in this summer’s Olympic Games. Hiltz, who uses they/them pronouns, posted the winning time in the 1500-meter race at this weekend’s U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon—and had the second-fastest time posted by any American at that distance. In addition, her time of 3:55:33 broke the U.S. Olympic trials record. After the race, Hiltz spoke to reporters from NBC Sports about what the historic win meant to them. “This is bigger than just me. It’s the last day of Pride Month,” they said. “I wanted to run this one for my community. All the LGBT folks, yeah, you guys brought me home that last hundred [meters]. I could just feel the love and support,” Hiltz said. In addition to Hiltz, runners Emily Mackay and Elle St. Pierre came in second and third place, respectively, and also qualified to compete in the Olympic Games in Paris this summer.