NAU runner headed to Olympic trials after breaking college and world records this year

FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily)—NAU runner Nico Young holds many titles, including college and world records and double national champion. Now, he’s going for a new title: Olympic athlete.

Nico just broke the collegiate record for the 10k, running six-point-two miles in under 27 minutes, fast enough to qualify for the Olympic trials. “Only three Americans in the history of this country have ever run that fast, so to be the fourth one was awesome,” Nico said.

Just this year, he broke the world record for the fastest mile at elevation, clocking in at just 3:57. He also broke the collegiate record for the 5k with a time of 12:57.

Nico has been running since he was a kid but said training at NAU with his team at 7,000ft throughout college has given him an edge.

“Being here year after year the benefits get even more of just being at altitude so when I go to sea level I’m able to hold a faster pace for a longer time,” Nico said.

The trials are two months away, and Nico is ramping up his training.

“Right now I’m focusing on a lot of refining speed work and running a fast 800 and a 1500,” Nico said. “Because I know trials are going to be kicking race so the 10k is probably going to be a lot slower than my personal best and it’s going to come down to the last couple of laps.”

Whether it’s the NAU track or an Olympic stage, Nico said staying calm is the key.

“Staying as relaxed as possible for as long as possible so I have like physical queues I like to like relaxing my shoulders and my face and trying not to use too much emotional energy too early on.”

His goal is to make an Olympic team, and he will run the 5k and 10k at trials. Nico will be in Oregon for the trials at the end of June. If he makes it through, he’ll go to Paris to represent Team USA in July.

The pressure is on, and Nico said he’ll use it to his advantage. “I’m framing it in a good way just because I know that I’m still in college I’m graduating so I do feel that I’m the underdog in that way. So I’m gonna embrace that mentality as long as I can.”

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.