With a little side step in the stretch, Flagstaff’s Nikki Hiltz surged around Emily Mackay and accelerated to an Olympic Trials victory in a blazing women’s 1,500 meters that saw eight women break 4 minutes and Hiltz achieve the second fastest time ever by an American woman.
Swift as the field was, no one was as fast as Hiltz, who withstood the early pace set by Elle St. Pierre and waited and waited before starting to make their move. And when they made it, it was decisive. Hiltz, coached by NAU’s Mike Smith, pulled away, making both Mackay and St. Pierre look as if they were running on sand.
Hiltz’ winning time was 3:55.33, the Olympic Trials record. It was the second American fastest women’s 1,500 run, and they needed everything they had to beat a deep field in which nine competitors had the Olympic standard.
Elsewhere on Sunday, the final day of the trials from Eugene, Ore., former NAU star Abdi Nur made it a two-man race with Grant Fisher. Nur took the lead on the backstretch of the bell lap, but Fisher answered by regaining the lead on the final curve. Nur tried to surge once more from the inside, but Fisher held on to win in 13:08.85, with Nur second in 13:09.01.
Both are headed to the Olympics in the 5,000, and Fisher (who trained part of this spring in Flagstaff) also in the 10,000. Third place in the 5,000 went to North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe, but Wolfe does not have the Olympic standard. Fourth-place Graham Blanks of Harvard does have the standard, but it’s yet to be determined if Wolfe has the points and ranking to earn a spot. If not, Blanks goes.
Technically, neither Bryce Hoppel nor Hobbs Kessler are Flagstaffians, but the two 800 meter runners who gained Olympic berths Sunday have trained here almost exclusively during the Olympic Trials buildup. Hoppel set the Olympic Trials record for the win in 1:42.77, while Kessler was second in a personal best of 1:43.64.
So Kessler now has qualified in both the 1,500 and 800. In Paris, though, the two events are close together and have numerous rounds. There had been speculation that Kessler might choose to run the 800, where conceivably he has a better medal chance. But both Kessler and his coach, Ron Warhurst, confirmed Sunday that Kessler will double in Paris.
Hiltz’s performance was the zenith of a career revival after moving to Flagstaff and being coached by Smith. They won a medal at the World Indoor Championships and now has a U.S. title and an Olympic berth.
They did it with their patented kick, even though earlier on it seemed the swift pace set by St. Pierre might neutralize that kick. But Hiltz, who found theirself in fourth place at the bell lap, first went outside to pass Sinclair Johnson and settled into third. Later in the backstretch, Mackay overtook Hiltz, who fell to third. At that point, Hiltz poised for their final push. They initially were on the inside, but stutter-stepped behind Mackay to get room to kick.
Running well into lane 2, Hiltz’s kick went into high gear and they won going away.
Meanwhile, in Great Britain, Dark Sky’s Neil Gourley won the Trials 1,500 meters in 3:37.67 to secure an Olympic spot.
Other Flagstaff finishers Sunday at the U.S. Trials: Dark Sky’s Abe Alvarado (8th in the 800), NAZ Elite’s Ahmed Muhumed (8th in 5,000), Woody Kincaid (9th in 5,000), NAZ Elite’s Olin Hacker (10th in 5,000), Dark Sky’s Kasey Knevelbaard (15th in 5,000) and NAU’s Maggi Congdon (12th in 1,500).
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