EUGENE, Ore. — The road to Paris runs through Flagstaff!
The northern Arizona city has long been seen as one of the top places to train for distance runners due to its elevation (about 7,000 feet, or 2,130 meters, above sea level). And on Sunday, that reputation proved worthy as four runners with ties to the city qualified to run for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris at the US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Abdihamid Nur: 5,000 meters
Abdihamid Nur, a former North High School and Northern Arizona University star, is headed to Paris after finishing in second place in the men's 5,000 meters with a time of 13:09.01, just 16 hundredths of a second behind winner Grant Fisher, who set a trials record with a time of 13:08.85.
Fisher and Nur broke away from the pack at the end of the race, with Fisher just edging out Nur as they sprinted to the line.
Nur originally hails from Somalia, but he and his family fled from the country when he was young. The family spent time in Kenya, Egypt, New Mexico and Minnesota before moving to Phoenix when Nur entered high school at North High School.
And while it may be hard to believe now with Nur headed to the Olympics, he actually didn't start running until high school as he was focused on becoming a soccer player.
However, a car accident that left Nur with torn ligaments in his knee and a broken collarbone led him to start running as part of his rehab and he hasn't stopped running since.
"They told me I would play soccer again as long as I did the rehab," Nur told the Associated Press in August 2023. "I just wanted to get back on the field as soon as possible and running was one of things I picked up for endurance and conditioning."
Nur won an AIA Division I cross country state championship in 2016. He then moved up to Flagstaff to run at Northern Arizona University, where he won indoor national championships in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters and set a collegiate outdoors record in the 10,000 meters.
The first round of the men's 5,000 meters at the Olympics will be run on Aug. 7 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France. If Nur advances to the finals, it will held on Aug. 10.
Bryce Hoppel and Hobbs Kessler: 800 meters
Bryce Hoppel and Hobbs Kessler are names track & field enthusiasts will say are often heard together.
The pair train together with Very Nice Track Club, which is based in Michigan, and ahead of the Olympic Trials, in November 2023, moved their training base to Flagstaff.
The pair even live together with fellow runners Morgan Beadlescomb and Mason Ferlic, according to RunnersWorld.com.
Now, Hoppel and Kessler will be headed to Paris together to compete in the men's 800 meters after finishing in first and second place, respectively, at the US Olympic Trials.
Hoppel won the race, setting a Trials record with a time of 1.42.77, nearly a second ahead of his training partner, who finished with a time of 1:43.64.
Hoppel ran collegiately at Kansas. Kessler originally committed to run at NAU but never hit the track for the Lumberjacks as he decided to turn pro straight out of high school.
Hoppel qualified for the 800 meters for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed until 2021 due to the pandemic, and finished 16th.
This will be Kessler's first Olympics.
The first round of the men's 800 meters will be held on August 7 at Stade de France. The semifinals will be held on Aug. 9 and the finals will be held on Aug. 10.
Nikki Hiltz: 1,500 meters
The final runner from Arizona to clinch a spot in Paris on Sunday was Nikki Hiltz, who won the women's 1,500 meters and set a Trials record with a time of 3:55.33, out-sprinting fellow Olympians Emily Mackay and Elle St. Pierre in the final 100 meters.
That time was also the second-fastest time ever for an American in the women's 1,500 meters.
This will be the first Olympics for Hiltz, who identifies as transgender and nonbinary and says the community around them has helped them reach the biggest stage in sports.
"I just feel like the LGBTQ community needed a win," Hiltz told the New York Times about winning the 1,500 meters at the US National Championships in 2023.
Hiltz moved to Flagstaff from San Diego with their partner, Emma Gee, in March 2022 to train with NAU coach Mike Smith. The couple also organizes the Pride 5k race in Flagstaff, which supports LGBTQ organizations.
This will be the first Olympics for Hiltz, who ran collegiately at Arkansas and Oregon.
The first round of the women's 1,500 will be held on Aug. 6. The semifinals will be held on Aug. 8 and the final will be held on Aug. 10.
Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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