Arkansas Alumni Elite Runner Nikki Hiltz Comes Out As Transgender

Pan American Gold Medalist and six times NCAA all American Nikki Hiltz came out as gender non-binary on the Transgender Day of Visibility. Nikki wrote on Instagram, “Hi I’m Nikki and I’m transgender. That means I don’t identify with the gender I was assigned at birth. The word I use currently to describe my gender is non-binary. The best way I can explain my gender is as fluid. Sometimes I wake up feeling like a powerful queen and other days I wake up feeling as if I’m just a guy being a dude, and other times I identify outside of the gender binary entirely”

A post shared by Nikki Hiltz (@nikkihiltz)

“It’s complicated and complex and something I’m still trying to navigate myself, but I’ve decided it’s time to share my gender fluidity with you all. Posting this is both exciting and terrifying but I am and always will be a firm believer that vulnerability and visibility are essential in creating social change and acceptance. So here I am, once again, coming out of a closet to be my true authentic self.”

“Today I can be visible because of the many Trans folks who have paved the way for me. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you and happy trans day of visibility to my beautiful and powerful trans family.”

A post shared by Nikki Hiltz (@nikkihiltz)

Hiltz ran for the University of Oregon before transferring to Arkansas, where she finished her collegiate career. She ran onto the podium at multiple NCAA Championships, including second in the 1,500m at the NCAA Outdoors in 2017 and 2018. Hiltz graduated and turned pro in 2018, and a year later she won gold in the 1,500m at the Pan Am Games in Peru. That same year, she won the USATF 1 Mile Road Championships, and later that fall she represented the U.S. at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, where she placed 12th in the 1,500m.

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