Nick Willis
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Willis at the 2016 World Indoor Championships
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Nicholas Ian Willis |
| Nationality | New Zealand |
| Born |
25 April 1983 Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
|
| Sport | Track |
| Event(s) | 1500 metres |
| College team | University of Michigan |
| Coached by | Ron Warhurst |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) |
800 metres: 1:45.54 1500 metres: 3:29.66 (AR) Mile: 3:49.83 3000 metres: 7:36.91 5000 metres: 13:20.33 |
Nicholas Ian Willis MNZM (born 25 April 1983) is a New Zealand middle distance runner and the country's only two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. His other achievements over the same distance include the national and Oceania record (3:29.66), and medals from three consecutive Commonwealth Games (gold in 2006, bronze in 2010 and 2014).
Willis was born in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, where he grew up with his brother and sister. He attended Hutt Valley High School and after high school, traveled to the University of Michigan in the United States on a full athletic scholarship. 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.
For a New Zealand high school student over the mile, Willis became the fastest ever on 20 January 2001, with a time of 4 min 1.33 s.
In 2005, at the Golden League series in Paris, France, Willis broke John Walker's 32-year-old national record for the 1500m. Willis then won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, 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.
Willis won the 1500m silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He originally placed third but the eventual disqualification of Rashid Ramzi due to a positive drug test saw Willis's bronze medal become a silver one, which he received in 2011.
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