Abdihamid Nur
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Abdihamid "Abdi" Nur (born October 14, 1998) is a Somali-born American
long-distance Long distance or Long-distance may refer to: *Long-distance calling *Long-distance operator *Long-distance relationship * Long-distance train *Long-distance anchor pylon, see dead-end tower Footpaths *Long-distance trail *European long-dista ...
runner. He competed collegiately for
Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...
from 2019 to 2022, where he won multiple national titles in the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
and set a collegiate record in the outdoor
5000 m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a sta ...
. After graduating, Nur signed with
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
and has since won 2 national titles and represented the US at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, and the 2024 Olympic Games.


Early life

Nur was born on October 14, 1998, in
Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...
, Somalia. He is the second youngest of eight children. He has three older brothers, three older sisters, and a younger sister. His family moved away from Somalia when he was very young due to the country's political instability. He remembers little of his time there since he was still an infant. His mother wanted a safer life for them, so she made the decision for them to leave Somalia. They stayed in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, where their mother owned a shop, for three short years prior to settling in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
for five years. Nur was only 4 when they arrived in Egypt. Then, they immigrated to the United States in 2006 where they first lived in
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
for a brief period of time. However, they relocated to
Apple Valley, Minnesota Apple Valley is a city in northwestern Dakota County, Minnesota, and a suburb of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities. The population was 56,374 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the 17th most populous city in Minnes ...
, where they had extended family members near the area. Their mother was the primary provider for the family. She worked odd jobs as a janitor and babysitter to financially support them. They would relocate once again to
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, while Nur was about to enter high school in 2013. Their mother grew tired of the cold climate in Minnesota.


2013–2017: Relocation to Arizona

Initially, Nur played soccer as an underclassman at North High School before he ever started running. He shared that "sports brought imcloser to people and helped immake friends". He even attributed sports for his smooth transition to the United States by allowing him to acclimate to a new culture. But, a nearly fatal car accident in his second year was what ultimately brought Nur to running. A driver in another car struck the car that Nur was riding in as a passenger in the backseat. Nur ended up tearing ligaments in his knee and required surgery to fix his injured collarbone. He was bedridden temporarily, missed the entire soccer season as a result, and was unable to go to school for three months. He recalls the experience messing him up and being a "really bad time for im. Eager to return to soccer in his junior year, he went through rehab just so that he could quickly get back to the field in good shape. During his rehabilitation, he needed to improve his endurance and conditioning. His coach advised him to give cross country a try. Immediately, Nur showed great potential by coming in third place at his first meet in
Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...
. His coach saw this and recommended that Nur forget soccer and seriously consider switching to running. Nur thought the idea sounded crazy because "soccer was something egrew up loving" and an integral part of his identity. His whole family played soccer, including all of his brothers, which is why he struggled to envision quitting the sport. Soon though, Nur actually took a liking to running and it became something that he did out of genuine interest. Later, he won the
Arizona Interscholastic Association The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) is one of two regulatory bodies for high school athletics and activities in the state of Arizona. It comprises all of the state's public district high schools (except Ajo High School, Beaver Dam High ...
(AIA) Cross Country Division I State Championships in his senior year of high school which opened up many opportunities with colleges for him. Nur is a 2016
Arizona Interscholastic Association The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) is one of two regulatory bodies for high school athletics and activities in the state of Arizona. It comprises all of the state's public district high schools (except Ajo High School, Beaver Dam High ...
Cross Country Division I State Champion, and 3-time
Arizona Interscholastic Association The Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) is one of two regulatory bodies for high school athletics and activities in the state of Arizona. It comprises all of the state's public district high schools (except Ajo High School, Beaver Dam High ...
Division I State finalist. Nur set personal best times of 5 km 15:30.0, 3200 m 9:27.02, & 1600 m 4:28.34. He began to receive calls following his win at the AIA Cross Country Championships, putting him on
Northern Arizona University Northern Arizona University (NAU) is a public research university based in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1899, it was the third and final university established in the Arizona Territory. It is one of the three universities gove ...
's (NAU) radar. Despite failing to qualify academically for the university's cross country team right away, he had to implement changes to his studies to compete for the university at the collegiate level.


2017–2022: Collegiate career


Coconino County Community College

Nur enrolled at Coconino County Community College in Flagstaff in 2017. He fully devoted himself to his grades and training exclusively so that he could increase his chances of being accepted into NAU. Additionally, he had to adjust to the challenges of training without a coach or team, living on his own in a new city, and college courses. Since he remained in his home state, not far from Phoenix, he knew friends in town who he would train with off-campus. The cross country coach at NAU, Michael Smith, kept in contact with Nur and would check in along the way to see how Nur was progressing in his efforts to run for NAU. Given Flagstaff's small population and size, Nur inevitably encountered athletes from the NAU team on his long runs on trails or road loops. He looked at them in complete astonishment and amazement as they passed him with utter ease. Expectedly, it led him to cast some doubt upon himself and his abilities. He questioned if he could be a part of NAU, run with the squad, or make their team. It would be difficult enough for him just to be added to the roster, let alone finish in the top ''seven''. Despite Nur's attempts to meet the NCAA standards, he was deemed a non-qualifier for yet another year in the spring of 2018. As disappointed as he may have been, waiting to achieve his goals, he appreciated that the two years he had off taught him to maintain his focus and continue to chase his dreams harder than before.


Northern Arizona University

It was not until the summer of 2019 that he finally raised up his grades and qualified for NAU. He reached out to Coach Mike Smith who started Nur out slowly because Smith was uncertain of what Nur could handle after a two-year break. By this point, Nur was more than ready and gravitated toward the top runners like his teammate
Luis Grijalva Luis Miguel Grijalva (born 10 April 1999) is a Guatemalan Long-distance running, long-distance Running, runner. Born in Guatemala, he attended Armijo High School in Fairfield, California, where he was a state champion in cross country and track. ...
who acted as his training partner and mentor. They pushed and motivated each other to do their best, becoming close friends as well in the process. Nur would run 80 to 90 miles a week and Grijalva would run 90 to 100 miles a week. Nur surprised himself during one particular workout where he found himself next to Grijalva's shoulder at the end of the session. He boosted confidence in himself and believed that he may be able to place in the top seven at competitions after all if he can keep up with Grijalva.


Competition record


International Competitions


National Championships


NCAA and Big Sky Championships


Prep

Abdihamid Nur Track & Field Bio North High School in Phoenix, Arizona
Athletic.net


References


External links

* *
Abdihamid Nur
at Athletic.net
Abdihamid Nur
track and field profile at NAUathletics.com
Abdihamid Nur
cross country profile at NAUathletics.com
Abdihamid Nur
at
Strava Strava is an American internet service for tracking physical exercise which incorporates social network features. It started out tracking mostly outdoor cycling and running activities using Global Positioning System (GPS) data, but now incorpor ...
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nur, Abdihamid 1998 births Living people Somalian male long-distance runners American male long-distance runners Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's track and field athletes Somalian emigrants to the United States Northern Arizona Lumberjacks men's cross country runners American sportsmen Track and field athletes from Phoenix, Arizona United States collegiate record holders in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American track and field athletes Northern Arizona University alumni Sportspeople from Arizona NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships winners Coconino Comets men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States