NICK SYMMONDS

Event: 800m, 1,500m
Height: 5-10
Weight: 165
PRs: 800m - 1:44.10 (2008); mile - 3:56.72i (2007); 1,500m - 3:40.91 (2006)
Born: Dec. 30, 1983, in Blytheville, Ark.
Current Residence: Springfield, Ore.
High School: Bishop Kelly (Boise, Idaho) HS ‘02
College: Willamette University ‘06
Coach: Frank Gagliano
Agent: Chris Layne
Club: Nike 

Career Highlights: 2008 Olympic Trials  800m champion; Two-time USA Outdoor runner-up (’06, ’07); 2007 USA Indoor champion; Seven-time NCAA Div. III Outdoor champion (800m, 1,500m)

At the 2008 Olympic Trials men’s 800m final, Symmonds used his patented kick coming off the final curve to propel himself to the win in a personal best time of 1:44.10 in qualifying for his first Olympic Team in front of his hometown fans in Eugene, Ore. His time at the Olympic Trials was the fastest time by an American in 2008. Symmonds won his first U.S. indoor title in 2007 and followed that up with a runner-up finish at the USA Outdoor Championships. He first proved his mettle on the elite level when he finished as the runner-up in the 800 meters at the 2006 USA Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis. His time of 1:45.83 was a personal best for the Division III national record holder from Willamette University in Oregon, who wore his high school singlet during the competition. He was a seven-time NCAA Division III outdoor track champion, winning every NCAA championship race in which he competed. He won both the 800 and 1,500 each year of his college career except his sophomore season, when injury limited him to only the 800. Symmonds was named the 2005 Division III Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year, and was the recipient of the prestigious Ad Rutschman Award, presented at the annual Oregon Sports Awards Banquet to the state’s top small college athlete. Symmonds was the surprise winner of the 2005 Northwest Conference cross country championship last fall, helping lead the Bearcats to another conference and regional championship, their fifth in a row. In his first career indoor race on January 13, 2006 in Seattle, Symmonds posted an impressive time of 3:56.72 for the mile. A 2006 graduate of Willamette University, where he studied biochemistry, Symmonds attended Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho. He now competes for the Oregon Track Club.

2009: 1st at Tyson Invitational (1:47.72)…1st at 1,000m at Reebok BIG (2:20.52)
2008: Olympic Trials 800m champion (1:44.10PR, U.S. Leader)…5th in Olympics semifinal (1:46.96)…4th at Nike Prefontaine Classic (1:45.01)…6th at World Indoor Champs (1:46.48IndoorPR)…runner-up at USA Indoors (1:46.96)…ranked #1 in U.S. by T&FN...best of 1:44.10.
2007: USA Outdoors runner-up (1:45.17)… 6th in semis at World Outdoors (1:46.41)...USA Indoors champion (1:48.73)…1st at Reebok Boston Indoor Games (1:48.15)…1st in mile at Seattle (3:56.72iPR)…2nd in mile at Tyson Invitational (4:01.21)…Nike Prefontaine Classic champion (1:44.54PR)…3rd at Madrid (1:45.06)…5th at Heusden-Zolder (1:45.49)…ranked #2 in U.S. by T&FN…best of 1:44.54.
2006: Runner-up at USA Outdoors (1:45.83)…NCAA Division III Outdoor 800m champ (1:49.59)…4th at Stanford (3:40.91PR)…ranked #7 in U.S. by T&FN…bests of 1:45.83, 3:40.91.
2005: NCAA Div. III Outdoor 800m champ (1:49.87)…NCAA Div. III 1,500m champ (3:54.20)…bests of 1:48.82, 3:54.20.
2004: NCAA Div. III Outdoor 800m champ…bests of 1:50.87, 3:46.66.
2003: NCAA Div. III Outdoor 800m champ (1:49.51)…NCAA Div. III 1,500m champ (3:46.66)…bests of 1:49.51, 3:46.66.