Nick Willis

Willis won the 1500m silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. He originally placed third but the eventual disqualification of Rashid Ramzi due to a positive drug test saw Willis's bronze medal become a silver one, which he received in 2011. On 2 May 2018, it was announced that, Asbel Kiprop of Kenya, who was declared the champion on Rmazi's disqualification, had tested positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug EPO Although this raises the possibility of Kiprop being disqualified and Willis being declared champion it is highly unusual for any drug sanction to cover more than a few years.

In early 2016 Willis won his first World Indoor Championship medal, taking bronze in the 1500m final behind future Olympic champion Matt Centrowitz and Jakub Holuša.

Over a 66-day period (15 May – 20 July) leading up to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Willis ran his best times over four different distances. Two of those runs doubled as new national records.

In July 2012 Willis set the Oceania 1500m record with a run of 3:30.35 at the Monaco Diamond League Herculis meeting. He placed third in the race, and his time was also an improvement on his own New Zealand record.

On 27 July he was officially named the Olympic flag bearer for New Zealand at London 2012.

Willis didn't receive his 2008 Olympic silver medal until 26 February 2011. The presentation was originally scheduled for an international track meet in Christchurch, but the earthquake on 22 February caused that event to be cancelled. Instead, Willis received his medal at a fundraising track meet organised in response to the earthquake and held at Newtown Park in Wellington. It was presented by International Olympic Committee member and 1976 gold medallist Barry Maister. It was the first Olympic medal ceremony held in New Zealand. At the same meet, Willis ran a sub-four-minute mile.

During 2010, Willis underwent knee surgery. He came fifth in the Fifth Avenue Mile race and although he was the defending champion in the 1500m, his form leading into the 2010 Commonwealth Games was not his best. He managed to win the bronze medal in the event and said afterward that he was looking forward to training injury-free.

In the final Willis stayed at the back of the pack of runners for most of the race. Working his way through the field, he found himself in 6th place with 200m to go. Along the home straight he passed three runners, holding off Baala on the line claiming the bronze medal in 3:34.16. With the disqualification of the race winner winner Rashid Ramzi on 18 November 2009 due to a positive drug test, Willis was upgraded to the silver medal.

In conclusion to his 2008 season, Willis won the Fifth Avenue Mile race in New York City, beating out twice-world champion Bernard Lagat of the United States by 0.1 seconds. Willis was the first New Zealander to win the race since John Walker in 1984.

Willis married Sierra Boucher on 30 September 2007. In 2012 they became parents with the birth of a son, Lachlan. They currently reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In March 2016 Willis announced on social media that he was a former porn addict.

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.

For a New Zealand high school student over the mile, Willis became the fastest ever on 20 January 2001, with a time of 4 min 1.33 s.

Nicholas Ian Willis MNZM (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. 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).