C HAT
Olympic Education
with
a
CH A M P IO N
Nick Willis
Discipline: Middle distance running
Specialist events: 800m and 1500m
Nick Willis was born in Lower Hutt (near
Wellington) in 1983.Running talent
obviously runs in the Willis family, as
Nick and his brother Steve are the only
brothers in the history of New Zealand
to run a mile in less than 4 minutes.
When he was at Hutt Valley High
School in January 2001, Nick became
the fastest New Zealand student to
run a mile in just 4 minutes and 1.33
seconds.
After high school, Nick was awarded
an athletics scholarship at the
University of Michigan in the United
States of America. He thrived in the
environment, and his running went from strength to strength.
He represented New Zealand at the 2004 Athens Olympic
Games and the 2005 World Championships, reaching the semifinal each time.
At the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Nick took the
Gold Medal in the 1500m.
In 2008, he reached the final of the 1500m at the Beijing
Olympic Games. After a tight race, Nick finished third to claim
the Bronze Medal. In 2009, the winner of the race, Rashid Ramzi,
was disqualified because of a positive drug test. So Nick’s
Bronze Medal was upgraded to a Silver. (For further information
on Nick’s experiences at the 2008 Olympic Games, see “It Pays
to Play Fair” in the Living the Olympic Values resource, http://
www.olympic.org.nz/education/living-olympic-values)
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Nick was
recovering from knee surgery, but he didn’t let this stop him
from winning the Bronze Medal.
Nick Willis currently lives in Michigan with his wife Sierra, when
he isn’t travelling to train and compete.
For more about Nick, see the Living the Olympic Values resource,
available from http://www.olympic.org.nz/education/livingolympic-values
Copyright © 2012 The New Zealand Olympic Committee. All rights reserved.
Images copyright © Getty Images.
Nick Willis
1
C HAT
Olympic Education
with
a
CH A M P IO N
Career highlights
2010: Bronze Medal in the 1500m at the Delhi
Commonwealth Games (3 min 42.38 sec).
2008: Silver Medal in the 1500m at the Beijing Olympic
Games (3 min 34.16 sec).
2006: Gold Medal in the 1500m at the Melbourne
Commonwealth Games (3 min 38.49 sec). First New Zealander
to win Gold in this event at the Commonwealth Games.
2005: Broke the New Zealand record for the 1500m, held for
32 years by John Walker.
2002: Fourth in 1500m at the World Junior Track and Field
Championships.
2001: Record for fastest New Zealand student over a mile
(4 min 1.33 sec).
http://www.willisrunning.com/
Copyright © 2012 The New Zealand Olympic Committee. All rights reserved.
Images copyright © Getty Images.
Nick Willis
2
C HAT
Olympic Education
with
a
CH A M P IO N
Middle distance running
The most common middle distance running events are the 800m, the 1500m
and the mile. Events longer than sprints and up to the 3000m are included in
this category.
Middle distance runners have to have good endurance. They need to
maintain a good pace throughout the run as well as saving enough energy to
sprint to the finish.
Tactics also play a big part in middle distance running, as most competitors
will have a plan for the race. Good middle distance runners can think on their
feet and adapt their strategy as the race goes on.
Copyright © 2012 The New Zealand Olympic Committee. All rights reserved.
Images copyright © Getty Images.
Nick Willis
3
C HAT
Olympic Education
with
a
CH A M P IO N
800m
The men’s 800m has been an event at every modern Olympic Games. It
involves running two laps of a standard 400m track. Women first ran the
800m in the 1928 Olympic Games, but the event was not run again until
1960.
World records (as of December 2011)
Men: 1 min 41.01 sec
Women: 1 min 53.28 sec
1500m
The 1500m is the most prestigious middle distance event. It consists of threeand-three-quarter laps around a standard 400m track. In the early 1900s, the
tracks in Europe were generally 500m, so the 1500m race came from three
laps of the track.
The men’s 1500m has been an event at every modern Olympic Games, but
the women’s event has only been run since 1972.
World records (as of December 2011)
Men: 3 min 26.00 sec
Women: 3 min 50.46 sec
Copyright © 2012 The New Zealand Olympic Committee. All rights reserved.
Images copyright © Getty Images.
Nick Willis
4
C HAT
with
a
Olympic Education
CH A M P IO N
Well-known New Zealand middle
distance runners
Jack Lovelock: 1936 Olympic Games 1500m Gold
Peter Snell: 1960 Olympic Games 800m Gold, 1964 Olympic
Games 800m and 1500m Gold
John Walker: 1976 Olympic Games 1500m Gold
Peter Snell
Jack Lovelock
Copyright © 2012 The New Zealand Olympic Committee. All rights reserved.
Images copyright © Getty Images.
Nick Willis
John Walker
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