"Scary place to be queer person right now"- Nikki Hiltz sends message as they announce absence from US road mile Championships

The Sportico House at SXSW - Day 2 - Source: Getty — Nikki Hiltz at The Sportico House at SXSW - Day 2 - (Source: Getty)

Nikki Hiltz announced their absence from the US Mile Road Championships and sent out a motivational message for Des Moines' queer people. Hiltz has been identifying as a nonbinary and transgender person since coming out on International Transgender Day of Visibility in 2021.

Nikki Hiltz came fresh off winning the 800m race at the Grand Slam Track League's first stop in Jamaica, where she set the women's 800m short distance record by clocking a time of 1:58.23. Following the victorious feat, HIltz was scheduled to compete at the USATF 1 Mile Championships in Des Moine, Iowa but a sudden change of plans wouldn't allow them to.

Sending out support to the queer community of Des Moines, Hiltz penned a long note on their Instagram story that read:

"I was originally planning on racing the US road mile championships in Des Moines Iowa later this month but I won't be competing there now due to some scheduling changes with the Road Running World Championships."

They added:

"Sending all my love to the LGBTQ+ people of Des Moines. It's a scary place to be queer person right now but I firmly believe the power of the people is stronger than the people in power. And Iowans have a LOT of power! Y'all have always made me feel so loved when racing there- I hope to be back sometime soon.."

Nikki Hiltz shares a message for people Des Moines; Instagram - @nikkihiltz

Nikki Hiltz finished third in 4:05.39 in the 1500m short race and earned $50,000 for her double podium finishes.

Nikki Hiltz once clarified opinions around competing in the women's sporting category

Hiltz at the 2024 Summer Olympics - Day 13 - (Source: Getty)

Nikki Hiltz made waves as a promising middle-distance athlete, clinching podiums at the collegiate and NCAA levels. In March 2025, they addressed the question people often ask about them about not competing in the men's category. Hiltz responded with a clarification on their Instagram story, writing:

"Hi there! Because there's no nonbinary category-hope this helps! I was also assigned female at birth and I've competed in the women's category my entire career. I'm just asking for people to use they/them pronouns when referring to me- it's really not that deep. Most decent humans can understand."

The 30-year-old competed in the 1500m at the Olympic trials, where they clinched 3:55.33 to finish first and book a seat on the Paris Games roster. At the Olympic finals, they clocked 3:56.38 to finish seventh, thus ending their Olympic run.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Neelabhra Roy