Aptos native Nikki Hiltz advanced to the women’s 1500-meters semifinals after they placed third in their preliminary heat at Stade de France on Aug. 6.
“It was all about patience, and this is incredible. I think I can officially call myself an Olympian now,” Hiltz said to NBC after Tuesday’s race.
The 29-year-old former Aptos High star finished in 4 minutes, 0.29 seconds in Heat 2 behind Georgia Bell (4:00.29) of Great Britain and Diribe Welteji (3:59.73) of Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Gudaf Tsegay had the fastest overall finish in 3:58.84, followed by Laura Muir (3:58.91) of Great Britain, Susan Lokayo Ejore (3:59.01) of Kenya, Georgia Griffith (3:59.22) of Australia and Agathe Guillemot (3:59.22) of France to round off the top five.
Hiltz had the 10th fastest overall finish, while American teammates Emily Mackay (3:59.63) was sixth fastest and Elle St. Pierre (4:03.22) was 20th. Mackay and St. Pierre both qualified for Thursday’s semifinals.
Hiltz—a 2012 California Interscholastic Federation State champion in the 1600—secured a spot in Paris after they won the 1500 finals in the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials on June 30.
They will continue their quest for gold in Thursday’s semifinals set for 10:35am.
“I get so excited for the rounds because it’s a game out there, it’s a tactical game,” Hiltz said. “The final is probably going to be fast, which is its own fun thing in itself. But I think it’s so fun to play the game, so [I’m] hoping to bring out my inner child again on Thursday.”
Hiltz also gave a special shout out to fans who stayed up past their bedtime to watch the race, which begin at 1:05am.
“And thanks to everyone for waking up early, go back to bed now,” they said.
Santa Cruz native Natalia Grossman, 23, finished with a score of 69.2 points in the boulder climb portion of the women’s bouldering and lead combined semifinals Tuesday.
Grossman scored a 9.8, 25.0, 9.8 and 24.6, giving her the fifth best overall score behind current leader Janja Garnbret (99.6) of Slovenia, Oriane Bertone (84.5) of France, American Brooke Raboutou (83.7) and Oceana Mackenzie (79.6) of Australia.
The semifinals continues at Le Bourget Sport Climbing venue with the lead climb portion set for Thursday at 1am.
Scotts Valley High native Dom Parrish will make her Olympic debut Wednesday in the women’s freestyle wrestling 53 kilogram division. She will take on Akari Fujinami of Japan in the Round of 16 at 2:42am.
The trek to Paris started when Parrish—a former Scotts Valley High star and two-time CIF Wrestling champion (2014-’15)—defeated 2016 Olympian Haley Augello in the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials on April 20.
Santa Cruz resident Kelsey Robinson Cook and the U.S. women’s volleyball team continue its journey to defend the gold medal.
The Americans swept Poland in three sets (25-22, 25-14, 25-20) in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. The U.S. will play Brazil in the semifinals on Thursday at 7am.
2024 Olympic medalist
Silver
Haley Batten (Santa Cruz), USA, women’s mountain biking
Bronze
Caspar Corbeau (Aptos), Netherlands, 200 meter breaststroke
