Transgender and non-binary runner Nikki Hiltz into 1500m final at Paris Olympics

Transgender and non-binary runner Nikki Hiltz has qualified for the 1500m women’s final at the Olympics.

Hiltz, who has previously encouraged people to ‘respect people’s pronouns,’ finished third in their semifinal race with a time of 3:56.17.

The 29-year-old is one of three transgender athletes competing at the Paris Olympics, including Canadian soccer player Quinn and New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, both of whom compete in the women’s divisions as well.

Hiltz’s assigned gender at birth was female and they are not taking hormone treatments, making them eligible to compete in the Olympics, the New York Post noted.

On Monday, Hiltz announced on X that they were deleting the platform until the end of the competition – but not before sharing a message with fans. 

Hiltz posted a time of 3:56.17 to continue their quest for a gold medal at the Paris Olympics

‘Respect people’s pronouns and if someone has a different lived experience than you, try educating yourself instead of hating on them,’ they said.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Hilton said their participation in the tournament was a potential ‘opportunity to change someone’s mind about something.’

Hiltz’s Team USA teammate Elle St. Pierre will join them in the 1500m final.

Hiltz’s advancement comes amid the success of boxers Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting in women’s boxing at these Olympics.

Imane Khelif, of Algeria, is into the gold medal match for boxing in the welterweight division

Both fighters, of Algeria and Taiwan respectively, failed gender eligibility tests at last year’s World Championships but are into the gold medal match in the welterweight and featherweight divisions respectively.

Debate came to a head regarding Khelif when she beat Italian opponent Angela Carini.

Carini withdrew from the fight after just 46 seconds after taking a heavy punch, saying afterwards that she had ‘never been hit so hard in my life.’

However, Carini later said she ‘wants to apologize’ to Khelif, whom she did not shake hands with after the fight.