Nicholas Ian Willis (born 25 April 1983) is a New Zealand middle-distance runner and the country's only two-time Olympic medalist in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1500-metre run is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletics since 1983. It is equivalent to 1.5 kilomet ...

. He won the silver medal at the

2008 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 fr ...

in Beijing, and bronze at the

2016 Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

in Rio De Janeiro. His other achievements over the same distance include the national and Oceania record (3:29.66), and medals from three consecutive

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

(gold in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, bronze in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Early life

Willis was born in and grew up in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

, New Zealand, where he went to Hutt Valley High School and was coached by Don Dalgliesh before attending

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on a full athletic

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. His brother, Steve Willis, is also an athlete, and they are the only brothers in the history of New Zealand to have both broken 4:00 minutes for the mile. In 2000, Willis won the 800m and 1500m double at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships. On the 20th of January, 2001, Willis became the fastest New Zealand secondary school student over the mile, with a time of 4 min 1.33 s.

Career

In 2005, at the Golden League series in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Willis broke John Walker's 32-year-old national record for the 1500m. Willis then won a Gold Medal at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

, which he completed in 3:38.49 minutes, and two first placings at the New Zealand Track & Field Championships in 2006, with a time of 3:50.77 minutes, and 2008, which he ran in 3:44.46 minutes. His IAAF world ranking was 16 in May 2007.

2008: Olympic silver medalist

Willis won the 1500m silver medal in 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 ...

. He originally placed third but the eventual disqualification of Rashid Ramzi due to a positive drug test saw Willis's bronze medal upgraded to silver, which he received in 2011. On 2 May 2018, it was announced that Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, who was declared the champion on Ramzi's disqualification, had tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug EPO Although this raises the possibility of Kiprop being disqualified and Willis being declared champion it is highly unusual for any drug sanction to cover more than a few years. In the first 1500m heat Willis placed second in a time of 3:36.01. After running at the back of the field for the first few laps he took the lead on the final lap eventually finishing ahead of Mehdi Baala. Willis ran in the second 1500m semi-final where the pace was so slow that during the race he told the other competitors to "pick up the pace" so that more of them would have a chance to qualify. With 250m to go Willis was almost boxed in and had to force his way into the clear eventually finishing fifth in a time of 3:37.54 to qualify for the final. In the final Willis stayed at the back of the pack of runners for most of the race. Working his way through the field, he was in sixth place with 200m to go. Along the home straight he passed three runners, holding off Baala on the line to win the bronze medal in 3:34.16. With the disqualification of the race winner Rashid Ramzi on 18 November 2009 due to a positive drug test, Willis was upgraded to the

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

. In conclusion to his 2008 season, Willis won the Fifth Avenue Mile race in New York City, beating out twice-world champion

Bernard Lagat Bernard Kipchirchir Lagat (born December 12, 1974) is a Kenyan-American former Middle-distance running, middle and long-distance running, long-distance runner. Lagat was born in Kapsabet, Kenya. Prior to his List of eligibility transfers in at ...

of the United States by 0.1 seconds. Willis was the first New Zealander to win the race since John Walker in 1984.

2010: Surgery and comeback

During 2010, Willis underwent knee surgery. He came fifth in the Fifth Avenue Mile race and although he was the defending champion in the 1500m, his form leading into the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

was not his best. He managed to win the bronze medal in the event and said afterward that he was looking forward to training injury-free.

2011

Willis didn't receive his 2008 Olympic silver medal until 26 February 2011. The presentation was originally scheduled for an international track meet in Christchurch, but the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

on 22 February caused that event to be cancelled. Instead, Willis received his medal at a fundraising track meet organised in response to the earthquake and held at

Newtown Park Newtown Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, owned and managed by Wellington City Council. It is used for football (soccer) matches in winter, and track and field athletics in summer. Newtown Park is the primary athletic ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. It was presented by

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

member and 1976 gold medallist Barry Maister. It was the first Olympic medal ceremony held in New Zealand. At the same meet, Willis ran a sub-four-minute mile.

2012

In July 2012 Willis set the Oceania 1500m record with a run of 3:30.35 at the Monaco

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fifteen invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics one-day meet competitions. The inaugural season was ...

Herculis meeting. He placed third in the race, and his time was also an improvement on his own New Zealand record.

London Olympics

On 27 July he was officially named the Olympic flag bearer for New Zealand at

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Willis was the oldest runner to make the final of the 1500m, in which he placed 9th – a result he described as "heart-breaking" and "a bit embarrassing". Algerian

Taoufik Makhloufi Taoufik Makhloufi (; born 29 April 1988) is an Algerian athlete who specialises in middle-distance running. He became the 1500 metres Olympic champion at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. In 2016, Makhloufi took the silver medal in th ...

won in 3:34.08s, with Willis clocking 3:36.94. Reflecting on this result in 2013, Willis conceded that he'd peaked three weeks too early at Monaco, and consequently "ran out of steam".

2014

Over a 66-day period (15 May – 20 July) leading up to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Willis ran his best times over four different distances. Two of those runs doubled as new national records. He began with a time of 13m 20.33s over 5000m on 15 May. On 11 June he became the second New Zealander after Sir John Walker to break 3m 50s over a mile when he finished second at the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislett ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Six days later, he shaved 0.58s off Walker's 31-year-old record for 3000m at

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

in the Czech Republic, clocking 7m 36.91s. Then on 20 July, racing in a

event 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, ...

, he reduced the New Zealand 1500m record to 3m 29.91s. This 1500m time came on the same track that he set national records on in 2011 and 2012, and made Willis the 27th man to beat the 3m30s barrier. He placed seventh in an uncommonly fast race: the runners who finished fourth through seventh all ran the quickest ever times for their places in the field.

Glasgow Commonwealth Games

Entering the Commonwealth Games 5000m for the first time, and believing that he had "nothing to lose", Willis finished tenth. Amongst the New Zealanders in the field he was third of three, with Zane Robertson taking bronze. Robertson's twin brother, Jake, was also in the 5000m race but tripped after a collision involving Willis. At the time Jake Robertson said that the incident was "the way things go", but five days later he told reporters that he would "not forget ..he reason I fell in the 5K, including Nick Willis." Invited to comment, Willis only shrugged off " sensationalist journalism". Willis also ran the 1500m at those games. He qualified directly for the final, winning the first heat in 3.40.76. In the final Willis overtook South African Johan Cronje with his last three steps to take bronze in 3:39.60. Frustrated at himself, Willis believed he'd timed his race badly and saw his third placing as a "respectable finish" that he had to "salvage" from the race. "It was only my fitness that got me to that medal, not any tactical nous, or brilliance or planning."

2016

In early 2016 Willis won his first World Indoor Championship medal, taking bronze in the 1500m final behind future Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz and Jakub Holuša. Willis qualified for his third successive 1500m Olympic final, finishing 6th in his heat and third in his semi-final. In the final, the first two laps were run at an extremely slow pace. During the final straight Willis moved into third place about 50 metres from the finish. While he could not close the gap to Makloufi and Centrowitz, he maintained his position across the line to claim the bronze medal. After the race, Willis said that taking the bronze was "incredibly satisfying...it's the personal satisfaction that we corrected all the wrongs from London." In finishing third, Willis became the oldest man to win an Olympic medal in the 1500 metres, and the 8th man to have won two 1500m Olympic medals.

2021

On 19 January 2021 Willis broke 4 minutes in the mile for a record 19th year in a row, running a 3:58.05 mile at the Orange Winter Classic meet in Clermont, Florida. This broke a tie with fellow New Zealander John Walker, who broke the 4-minute mile barrier every year from 1973-1990.

2022

On 29 January 2022 Willis extended the record for consecutive years with a sub-four minute mile when he broke 4 minutes in the mile for a 20th year in a row, running a 3:59.71 mile at the Millrose Games at the Armory in New York City.

Personal bests

Personal life

Willis married Sierra Boucher on 30 September 2007. They have three sons. They currently reside in

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Willis is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. In 2016, Nick admitted that he had been addicted to pornography since he was a teenager, but had been porn-free for two-and-a-half years. The candid admission blindsided Athletics New Zealand. His wife and family helped him beat his addiction.Top NZ runner grappled with porn addiction
Retrieved: 27 July 2024

References

External links