NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nikki Hiltz survived a three-way sprint finish to win a fourth successive outdoor U.S. national 1,500 meters title on Saturday, draping the trans flag around their shoulders as a pioneer for non-binary athletes, while New York's home hope Dalilah Muhammad easily advanced in the women's 400m hurdles.
Nearly full stands were a welcome sight after two days of muted attendances at Icahn Stadium, as the national championships lacked drama in an off year without the Olympics or world championships.
Hiltz, who uses they/them pronouns, delivered the most exciting performance of the night in the women's metric mile, breaking the tape after a superb tactical run in four minutes and 6.92 seconds.
Stuck in second around the final turn, Hiltz slipped around the outside of Addy Wiley (4:06.96) down the final straight and held off a late charge from Emily Mackay (4:06.98) before basking in the roar of the crowd.
"My mom's from Long Island so I feel like a little part of me is from here," said Hiltz, with the trans pride flag wrapped around their shoulders. Nathan Green won the men's 1,500 meters in 3:50.27.
NEW YORK CHEERS HOME HOPE
The championships came to New York for the first time in more than three decades this year and the city's Mayor Zohran Mamdani was in attendance to celebrate the occasion, holding the tape for the women's 100m ambulatory final, which Brittni Mason won in 12.16.
Queens-born-and-raised Olympic gold medallist Muhammad did enough to win her 400m hurdles heat in 54.80, a year after she was widely expected to call time on her career. "This is actually first time ever I've had the opportunity (to be) racing here as a pro," said Muhammad, who won gold at the 2016 Olympics. "I just had to be here."
Aaliyah Butler got out fast and was all by herself going around the final turn of the women's 400m flat, crossing the line more than a half second faster than Alexis Holmes in 49.93 for her first national title. The 2025 indoor champion Chris Bailey won the men's race in 44.39 with Khaleb McRae (44.41) second.
Alia Armstrong won the women's 100m hurdles with her best performance of the season in 12.38, in the absence of Olympic champion Masai Russell, who has lit up the Diamond League circuit this season.
A day after clinching the men's 100m title, Noah Lyles ran a comfortable 20.51 seconds to win his 200m heat 0.20 seconds ahead of Kyree King. (This story has been refiled to fix the pronoun of Hiltz to 'their' instead of 'her' in paragraph 1)