Nick Willis

Nicholas Ian Willis (born 25 April 1983) is a New Zealand middle distance runner and the country's only two-time Olympic medalist in the 1500 metres. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro. His other achievements over the same distance include the national and Oceania record (3:29.66), and medals from three consecutive Commonwealth Games (gold in 2006, bronze in 2010 and 2014). Early life Willis was born in and grew up in Lower Hutt, New Zealand, where he went to Hutt Valley High School and was coached by Don Dalgliesh before attending University of Michigan in the United States on a full athletic scholarship. His brother, Steve Willis, is also an athlete, and they are the only brothers in the history of New Zealand to have both broken 4:00 minutes for the mile. In 2000, Willis won the 800m and 1500m double at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships. On the 20th of January, 2001, Willis became the fastest New Zealand secondary school student over the mile, with a time of 4 min 1.33 s. Career In 2005, at the Golden League series in Paris, France, Willis broke John Walker's 32-year-old national record for the 1500m. Willis then won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which he completed in 3:38.49 minutes, and two first placings at the New Zealand Track & Field Championships in 2006, with a time of 3:50.77 minutes, and 2008, which he ran in 3:44.46 minutes. His IAAF world ranking was 16 in May 2007.