Nikki Hiltz is back in the news for all the right reasons. The Olympian recently won the 3000m short track event at the 2026 ASICS Sound Invite athletic meet in North Carolina, clocking 8:34.98.
Hiltz previously participated in the Millrose Games held in New York around the beginning of February. The American middle-distance runner also won the Wanamaker Mile, setting a new world-leading time of 4:19.64 for the 2026 season.
Nikki Hiltz Reveals Thoughts On Crowd Response At ASICS Sound Invite
Hiltz recently shared their interaction with the crowd at the aforementioned meet and the experience of online and offline bullying on Instagram. The Olympian added in one of their Instagram stories,
“It’s no secret that sometimes online I get a good amount of hate comments and messages when it comes to my identity…sadly I’ve gotten used to it and have learned to just expect it at this point. I can usually move on from them pretty quickly because at the end of the day it’s just people hiding behind a screen. But yesterday, sadly, about 2 minutes before the gun went off I had a face to face interaction with hate from someone in the crowd.”
The athlete further added that beyond a certain limit, such ‘harassment’ does impact them psychologically, as they added further,
“Part of me doesn’t even want to share this story or give the situation/ this person any sort of attention or energy but I think it’s important to share that people are becoming more and more empowered to harass others, especially minorities. I don’t have a solution or answer on how we collectively deal with this problem but I do know that the only thing more powerful than hate is love. Please continue to be kind to others and stand up to bullies…”
“I was feeling a bit shaken from the interaction as I approached the start line but I glanced into the crowd again and saw a poster with my face on it. The people holding it had the biggest smiles on their faces,” they wrote.
“Whether they knew it or not, in that moment, their sign and their joy re-centered me and reminded me that I was supported in that facility… After the race I simply had to give my bouquet of flowers that I had just won…a small way to say thank you for spreading love, not hate.”
Hiltz was last seen in action at the mile road event at the Honolulu Marathon held in December 2025. The California-native clocked a time of 4:24.50 to finish in the second position overall (personal best on this course) after having finished 5th in the 1500m event at the World Athletics Championships held in Tokyo.
