Nick Symmonds

In high school, he won state championships in the 800 meters (PR 1:53), 1600 meters (PR 4:20) and 3200 meters (PR 9:47) individual races and on the 4 × 400 m relay.

He chose Willamette University in Salem, Oregon over other schools that could offer athletic scholarships.

Nicholas Boone Symmonds (born December 30, 1983) is an American YouTube personality and retired middle-distance track athlete, from Boise, Idaho, who specialized in the 800 meters and 1500 meters distances.

Symmonds was born on December 30, 1983, in Blytheville, Arkansas.

His family moved to Boise, Idaho when he was three-years old.

His father Jeffrey Symmonds is a surgeon, and his mother Andrea is a teacher.

A few weeks later, Symmonds became the first American to qualify for the final of the men's 800m since 1997.

He finished sixth in 1:45.71.

Raised in Boise, Nick is a 2002 graduate of Bishop Kelly High School in that city.

An avid outdoorsman, Nick earned his Eagle Scout award in high school.

At Willamette, an NCAA Division III school, Symmonds earned a degree in biochemistry in 2006 and is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

While at Willamette, he won the 800 m NCAA championship race all four years and 1500 m NCAA championship race as a freshman, junior, and senior.

Symmonds collegiate best in the 800m (1:45.83) currently ranks No. 1 in NCAA Division III history.

His 1500m collegiate best (3:40.91) ranks No. 3 all-time in NCAA Division III.

Though Symmonds is widely regarded as Willamette's most decorated athlete, his poor relationship with Head Coach Matt McGuirk has prevented wide celebration of his athletic achievements at his alma mater.

After college, Symmonds joined the Oregon Track Club Elite.

A seven-time outdoor track champion at the NCAA III level, he was runner-up at the AT&T USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2006 in the 800m race.

In 2007, he won the 800m race at the Prefontaine Classic meet in Eugene, Oregon, with a then personal best time of 1:44.54, shocking the current Olympic champion Yuriy Borzakovskiy by beating him with his own come-from-behind strategy.

See the video.

He has competed in the 800m at two Olympic Games, reaching the semi-finals in Beijing 2008; in London 2012, he finished fifth in the final, running a personal best of 1:42.95 behind David Rudisha's world record.

In 2008, Symmonds won the United States Olympic Trials 800m final held in Eugene, Oregon with a personal best time of 1:44.10.

He was the first of three Oregon associated athletes to finish at the top of this race before the home crowd, the other two being Andrew Wheating from the University of Oregon and Oregon Track Club training partner Christian Smith, an event referred to as the "Oregon sweep" and replayed many times in television coverage of the meet.

This qualified all three men for the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, for the 800 m race.

At the Beijing Olympics, Symmonds won his first-round heat, then finished a non-qualifying fifth place in his semifinal heat with a time of 1:46.96, 0.73 seconds behind the winner of that heat.

Symmonds continued to improve in 2009, winning the USATF Championships over Khadevis Robinson, which qualified him to represent the United States at the World Championships.

As part of his preparation for the championships, Symmonds ran a personal best of 1:43.83 on July 29, 2009, in Monaco.

In 2010, he lowered his personal record again, to 1:43.76, while finishing third behind David Rudisha's 1:41.01 world record at the IAAF World Challenge track and field meet in Rieti, Italy.

On June 25, 2012, Symmonds returned to the 2012 United States Olympic Trials again on his home track in Eugene, Oregon.

The race went out fast, with Charles Jock leading Duane Solomon through a sub-50 second first lap.

Atypically, Symmonds was not far off that pace.

As Jock faded, Solomon charged off to a big lead through the final turn.

Symmonds ran around the field and sprinted past Solomon on the homestretch to make his second Olympic team.

At the London Olympics, Symmonds was one of the two time qualifiers for the final of the 800m.

He won a silver medal in the 800 meters at the 2013 World Championships, having previously finished sixth in the 2009 final and fifth in the 2011 final.

Symmonds is also the co-founder and former CEO of a supplement company called Run Gum, which makes functional chewing gum used by athletes, students, professionals, etc.

Symmonds signed with Brooks Running in January 2014 after a 7-year sponsorship with Nike.

In college at Willamette University he won seven NCAA Division III titles in outdoor track.

Symmonds is a 6-time US National 800 meters champion.

He launched Run Gum with his coach Sam Lapray in October 2014 with their flagship product, Energy Gum.

Following his retirement, Symmonds gained more popularity in 2020 through his YouTube channel which primarily focuses on running, powerlifting, and fitness.