Vance Nilsson reacts after winning the 400-meter hurdles national championship earlier this month in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo: Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard via USA TODAY Sports Network)
Nilsson's Race Was Over, But His Moment Was Just Beginning
Wednesday, June 24, 2026 | Men's Track and Field, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Vance Nilsson crossed the finish line and, following a moment to gather his bearings, let out a celebratory "whoop."
He had made it back in dramatic fashion.
Meanwhile, every muscle on his 6-foot-3 frame felt like a beach getting pounded by a hurricane.
"I had totally maxed out my body with that race,'' Nilsson said.
Nilsson made it through the round of interviews 12 days ago as the newest NCAA champion in the 400-meter hurdles, but that was as far as he got until his aching body parts had their say. Yes, he puked. Nilsson had never been so overjoyed at getting sick.
"It was such a great feeling,'' he said. "It was nice to come home with a trophy."
Gators sophomore Vance Nilsson overcame a hip injury as a freshman to regain his form on the way to a national title in the 400-meter hurdles earlier this month. (Photo: Trenton Bardi/UAA Communications)
Nilsson will remember much about June 12, 2026, as the years fade in the rearview mirror, but perhaps nothing more than the hours that followed his victory at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Nilsson ran a personal-best 48.06 – the second-fastest time in school history behind Kerron Clement's 47.24 in 2005 at the U.S. Track & Field Championships – to win Florida's first national championship in the event since Eric Futch went back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
After Nilsson had accepted his trophy, posed for photos and celebrated with his coaches and teammates, he gathered with a group of family at the Airbnb they had rented for the week. They ordered pizza, shared stories and cherished the moment.
Nilsson had only one request.
"He wanted to watch the track meet,'' said Lisa Nilsson, Vance's mother. "He didn't get to see any of it. It was a really fun evening."
Of course, they watched Nilsson's race more than once, and heard him break down each segment to cap a difficult two-year stretch since he won the 2024 Under-20 World Championship in Peru. A sophomore from Gilbert, Arizona, Nilsson's collegiate career had been defined by a hip injury that derailed him for a majority of the time until the postseason. Finally healthy, Nilsson began to regain his form and placed third in the 400m hurdles at the SEC Outdoor Championships in March.
When it was time for the final race of the season in Oregon, Texas senior Kody Blackwood, the SEC champion, and Texas A&M's Ja'Qualon Scott, the NCAA runner-up in 2025, figured to be Nilsson's top challengers. Starting outside in Lane 9, Nilsson focused on the mission.
"I was pretty confident,'' he said. "I knew that I had something special in my legs. I had to run the right race pattern. I told myself, 'I've just gotta go. If those guys can catch me, then they deserve to win.' I felt really good about what I could do."
Nilsson burst off the blocks, grabbed an early lead, and then held strong as the surging Blackwood tripped over the eighth hurdle. Nilsson clipped the next hurdle but still posted the ninth-fastest 400m hurdle time in collegiate history to hold off runner-up Scott (48.82).
Nilsson's bold strategy to go full-tilt from the gun and not let up proved the winning ticket.
"It can be really scary when you don't have anybody to key off of, and you're not sure if you are going too fast and if you're going to burn out at the end,'' he said. "I knew it was going to hurt, but I also knew that was the only way to win. I got off like a rocket."
The 20-year-old Nilsson has been a shooting star in the event since he was a high school freshman. That's when a coach suggested he try hurdles since he was tall. Growing up, Nilsson participated in several sports, including football.
Lisa Nilsson, a Delta Air Lines pilot, preferred her only son to play other sports. He had suffered a broken femur during an accident when he was 9 (see video).
She and her husband began to understand that Vance was onto something in track when, in 2024, he set a then-U.S. high school national record in the 300-meter hurdles.
"My husband and I, we had no idea that senior year how good he was,'' Lisa said. "We'd watch these meets, and nobody was even close to Vance. We did not know he was exceptional. It's so fun to be his mom because he is going to be successful. I don't know what he is going to end up doing with his life, but he is willing to work hard and do what it takes."
As a senior, Nilsson took a step up in competition by joining the AZ Flames Track Club. He instantly stood out as an athlete with college ability and beyond.
"It's been a journey for him from high school to college, but he has weathered the storm and came out on top,'' James Smith, one of Nilsson's personal club coaches, recently told the Arizona Republic. "He has always been a hard worker with internal drive. That is what sets him apart from normal athletes. He is not afraid to just bear in himself and his body and go for it."
When it was time for college, Nilsson had multiple offers from top schools but wanted to test himself against the best. He reached out to Florida while in high school, and after a Zoom call with UF coaches, a relationship began to build.
As a senior at Gilbert (Arizona) High School, Vance Nilsson set a national prep record in the 300-meter hurdles. (Photo: David Minton/Gilbert Sun News)
Two years later, Nilsson has etched his way into the program's rich tradition as a national champion. And if all goes well, he envisions much larger celebrations, with an eye toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
"It may sound crazy to some other people, but I think I can go out and win those Olympics,'' Nilsson said. "If I have good training these next two years and I put everything together, absolutely, that's my goal."
Can you imagine the post-race party if that happens?
For now, Nilsson and his "super fans" – that is the nickname Lisa has for the group of about a dozen family members who travel from Arizona, Utah and Canada for Vance's biggest meets – are still buzzing from his national title.
"Boy, he had a good year,'' she said. "It's really all him. He has had some fantastic coaching, people along the way who have motivated him and taught him so much, but the discipline is all his."
A stickler to a healthy diet, staying hydrated and pushing himself in training, Nilsson gobbled pizza and broke away from the hyper-focused athlete 12 days ago. There are times to be driven, and there are times to share life moments with those who helped you get there.
Vance Nilsson was tired, sore and had puked a couple of hours earlier – and felt as good as he ever has.
The national championship was the accomplishment. The celebration afterward was the reward.
"When you win, it gets everybody excited," he said. "We just talked. That is one of my favorite things: being able to go back, spend time with your family, and relax. All the pressure and anxiety and stress of training and competing, and then when you finally do what you wanted to do for so long, and you get to lay back and sit in it, it's really nice."
