William Andrew Nelson (born September 11, 1984, in

Bakersfield, California Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of th ...

, attended

Taft Union High School Taft Union High School is located in Taft in Kern County, California, in the United States. Taft High was founded in 1912. Taft is a small city of fewer than 10,000, and the school also serves the surrounding rural area, which in the early 21s ...

) is an American steeplechase runner. He is a two-time (2007 and 2008) Big 12 Conference steeplechase titleholder, a six-time NCAA All-American, and a runner-up at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He also posted a personal best time of 8:17.27 by finishing eleventh at the

2011 Diamond League The 2011 IAAF Diamond League (also known as the 2011 Samsung Diamond League for sponsorship purposes) was the second edition of the Diamond League, an annual series of fourteen one-day track and field meetings. The series began on 6 May in Doha, Q ...

Meet in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. In the same year, Nelson claimed his first ever career title at the U.S. Outdoor Track & Field Championships, with a time of 8:28.46. Nelson earned a spot on the U.S. team for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, by placing second at the U.S. Olympic Trials in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, with a time of 8:21.47. He competed as a member of the U.S. track and field team in the men's 3000 m steeplechase, along with his teammates

Anthony Famiglietti Anthony N. Famiglietti (born November 8, 1978) is an American track and field athlete who competes professionally for Skechers Performance and Reckless Running. He was formerly sponsored by Adidas. He has competed for the U.S. in the 3000 meter ...

and Joshua McAdams. Nelson ran in the second heat against thirteen other athletes, including Famiglietti, and France's

Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad (born 15 March 1985) is a retired French professional middle-distance running, middle-distance runner of Algerian descent who mainly competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase. He is the only man to win three Athletics a ...

, who later won the silver medal in the final. He finished the race in eleventh place by six tenths of a second (0.60) behind Great Britain's

Andrew Lemoncello Andrew Lemoncello (born 12 October 1982) is a Scottish long-distance runner who competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and the marathon events. He won a team junior gold medal at the 2001 European Cross Country Championships and won a schola ...

, with a time of 8:36.66. Nelson, however, failed to advance into the final, as he placed thirtieth overall, and was ranked farther below four mandatory slots for the next round. Nelson earned a spot on the U.S. team for the 2011

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

, South Korea, by winning the steeplechase event at the U.S. Track & Field Championships. Nelson also sought to qualify for his second Olympics in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

; however, he finished only in eighth place at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, with a time of 8:32.21. In 2014, Nelson decided to take his participation in Track & Field to the next level, by running for the freedom of

Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier (born September 12, 1944) is a Native American activist and member of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who was convicted of murdering two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in a June 26, 1975, shooting on the Pine Rid ...

. He ran in a "Free Leonard Peltier" jersey in four races, including the Payton Jordan Invitational, where he won the steeplechase in a time of 8:28.40. He also wore the jersey at the USA Championships in Sacramento, CA, where he placed 12th overall. Nelson currently resides in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, with his wife Alisa, and four children: Arabella Kennedy, Noah Andrew, Lonnie Jack and Wyatt Watkins. He works as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Cross Country/Track & Field programs at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

References

External links

* * * * *
Billy Nelson at NBC 2008 Olympics website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Billy 1984 births Living people American male steeplechase runners American male middle-distance runners Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Bakersfield, California Sportspeople from Longmont, Colorado People from Taft, California Sportspeople from Kern County, California Track and field athletes from California USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Colorado Buffaloes men's track and field athletes 21st-century American sportsmen