Nikki Hiltz, a United States middle-distance runner who publicly identifies as transgender and non-binary, competed in the women's 1,500 metres at the Paris 2024 Olympics, advancing from the heats to the semi-finals with times of 4:05.48 and 4:00.75 respectively.[1][2]

Born on October 18, 1994, Hiltz won gold in the women's 1,500m at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and silver at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.[3]

Hiltz came out as transgender and non-binary in January 2021, stating she uses she/they pronouns and competes in the category that matches her gender identity.[4]

Participation by transgender women in Olympic women's events has been rare. No transgender women competed at the Paris 2024 Games.[5]

At Tokyo 2020, New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard was the first openly transgender woman to compete at the Olympics, entering the women's +87kg category but failing to qualify for the final with a total lift of 285kg.[6][7]

The IOC's 2021 Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination defers eligibility rules for the female category to individual international federations, which must be evidence-based and not presume disadvantage.[8]

World Athletics, Hiltz's governing body, maintains regulations on testosterone levels and DSD athletes for women's events.[3]

Sources

1. Olympics.com. "Nikki Hiltz - Athletics". Accessed October 2024. https://olympics.com/en/athletes/nikki-hiltz
2. World Athletics. "Paris 24 | Women's 1500m results". 2024. https://worldathletics.org/competition/olympics/paris24/1500-metres-women/round/1/results?roundId=3110501&timing=0&page=1&bestBy=0&bestList=0&windReading=0&live=0
3. World Athletics. "Hiltz Nikki Profile - United States". Accessed October 2024. https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/nikki-hiltz-14674506
4. Runner's World. "Middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz comes out as trans and nonbinary". 7 January 2021. https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a37768029/nikki-hiltz-trans-nonbinary/
5. NBC News. "Transgender athletes won’t compete at Paris Olympics". 29 July 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/transgender-athletes-wont-compete-paris-olympics-rcna162388
6. Olympics.com. "Laurel Hubbard - Weightlifting". Accessed October 2024. https://olympics.com/en/athletes/laurel-hubbard
7. BBC Sport. "Laurel Hubbard: Transgender weightlifter fails to post qualifying total". 2 August 2021. https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/58049338
8. IOC. "IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-discrimination". 16 November 2021. https://www.olympic.org/news/ioc-framework-on-fairness-inclusion-and-non-discrimination-on-the-basis-of-gender-identity-and-sex-variations