Nick Willis

He’s already been to four other Games and gone on record to say that this will be his last Olympics, but in a unique way, it will be his most special.

“It’s the first time that I have been excited about being named, to be honest. In the past, it was expected and I was concentrating on aiming for medals, whereas this time I wasn’t confident I was going to be selected,” explains 38-year-old Nick. “With the delay due to Covid, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster, so this meant a lot more to me and those around me. It’s pretty rewarding.”

Nick, who is originally from Lower Hutt but is now based in the US, won a silver medal in Beijing in 2008 and followed that up with a bronze in Rio in 2016, when he became the oldest man to claim a 1500m medal – he was 33. There is no doubt that he’d love a gold medal to complete the set and is doing everything within his power to achieve that ultimate goal, but he knows he has a battle on his hands.

“I would be the first to admit that it would be quite a miracle if I were able to medal, but once you’re in that position, you forget about everything else and the adrenaline kicks in, your eyes light up and you get that taste for it again,” he explains.

And don’t expect the running star and father-of-two to be hanging up his training shoes anytime soon, despite his “no more Olympics” admission. He says he’s got big plans on the track and challenging goals for the next few years.