Nicholas Miller (born 1 May 1993) is a British

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who specialises in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

. He was the gold medallist at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

and

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

, a silver medallist at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

and the gold medal at the

2015 European Athletics U23 Championships The 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships were the 10th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was held in Tallinn, Estonia from 8 to 12 July. Medal summary Men Women Med ...

. He holds the British record of for the event. He represented Great Britain at the

2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1993 or later) which was held at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, on 10–15 ...

and the

2013 European Athletics U23 Championships The 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships was the 9th edition of the biennial athletics competition between European athletes under the age of twenty-three. It was held in Tampere, Finland from 10 to 14 July. Russia topped the medal table with ...

. He studied at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and is a five-time

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

champion (three times in hammer, twice in weight throw). His personal best in the weight throw of is the British record. He is also a two-time runner-up at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Championships.

Career

Early life and career

Born and raised in

Carlisle, Cumbria Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the Cit ...

, he became interested in athletics after working with Jack Harper-Tarr, a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

teacher and athletics judge.Henderson, Jason (8 June 2014)
Nick Miller has sights set on Glasgow 2014
''

Athletics Weekly ''AW'' (formerly ''Athletics Weekly'') is a monthly track and field magazine published in the United Kingdom by Athletics Weekly Limited. The magazine covers news, results, fixtures, coaching and product advice for all aspects of track and field, ...

''. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. Miller began training in throwing events at the local club,

Border Harriers & Athletics Club Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

, where Harper-Tarr coached.Member Insight Winter 2010
. Border Harriers (2010). Retrieved on 2 August 2014. Miller preferred

individual sports An individual sport is a sport in which participants compete as individuals. However, team competitions in individual sports also occur, such as the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup. Overview Examples *Athletics *Badminton *Billiards *Bodybuildin ...

and also took part in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

, winning a national youth age-category competition. Initially, he competed in a variety of track and field throwing events, but he became increasingly interested in the

after seeing a rival youngster throw beyond sixty metres. Miller achieved this feat himself with the 5 kg implement in 2009, winning the Cumbria Schools Championships. In 2010 he won the English junior (under-20) championships with a mark of with the 6 kg hammer. He repeated as champion the following year and also won the

English Schools Championships English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

title.Nick Miller
Power of 10. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. After finishing at

William Howard School The William Howard School is a co-educational secondary academy school on ''Longtown Road'' ( A6071) in Brampton, Cumbria, England for pupils aged 11–18. History The school is named after Lord William Howard (1563–1640), who was the third so ...

, he gained an athletic scholarship to study a multi-disciplinary degree at the

. In joining the American college, he followed in the footsteps of a fellow Border Harrier, distance runner Tom Farrell, who began studying there in 2010.

Move to Oklahoma

Miller began to compete athletically for the Oklahoma State Cowboys team and took up the weight throw event. His throwing coach, John Baumann, had trained several Olympians, including Gia Lewis-Smallwood. Miller was runner-up at his first major college event, the 2012

indoor championships. Throwing with the senior weight implement, he set a series of personal bests at the start of the outdoor season: he threw for second at the Texas Relays, before improving to , then .Nick Miller
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. He was the champion of the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, becoming Oklahoma State's first conference hammer throw winner since 1901. In July that year he had another best with a mark of before going on to represent Great Britain in the qualifiers at the

.Nick Miller
Oklahoma State Cowboys. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. He established himself as a top weight thrower in the 2013 indoor season, winning the Big 12 title before placing fourth at the

NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship The NCAA Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship refers to one of three annual collegiate indoor track and field competitions for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for athletes from institutions that make up its thre ...

with a school record of . In the hammer he cleared seventy metres for the first time at the

Mt. SAC Relays The Mt. SAC Relays are an annual track and field festival held primarily at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mt. San Antonio College campus in Walnut, California. The Relays are held in mid-April each year since the first edition held on April 24-25, 1 ...

. He defended his Big 12 hammer title with a stadium record in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...

and won at the NCAA qualifier meet with a new best of . He gave his worst performance of the season at the NCAA Outdoor finals, finishing in ninth place with a sub-65-metre throw. He was similarly off his best at the

, where he also ended the competition in ninth place. He improved again in the weight throw the following indoor season, culminating a new best mark of , which brought him second place at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a British record. He also defended his Big 12 indoor title that season. He won a third straight Big 12 outdoor hammer title with a throw of – a personal best, school record, stadium record, and Big 12 Conference record. His winning margin was more than fifteen metres. He was runner-up in the NCAA Outdoor hammer throw that year, second only to Matthias Tayala.

Commonwealth medal

He won his first senior international selection for the

2014 European Team Championships The fifth European Athletics Team Championships took place on 21 and 22 June 2014. Calendar Super League Place: Eintracht-Stadion, Braunschweig, Germany Participating countries * * * * * * * * * * * * Men's events Women' ...

and placed fifth for Great Britain. A week later, he was close to his best at the British Athletics Championships and won his first national title with a mark of . This led to his inclusion in the English team for the

and at the event in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

he threw to take the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

behind

James Steacy James Steacy (born 29 May 1984 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a male hammer thrower from Canada. His personal best of 79.13 metres, achieved in May 2008 in Lethbridge, Alberta, stands as the current Canadian record. He represented Canada at the 2 ...

– Miller's first international medal. In spite of this, Miller said "a little bit of me is a bit upset I didn't win but part of me is just 'what a fantastic achievement'".Corkhill, Barney (30 July 2014)
Nick Miller: 'It is a fantastic achievement'
''Sports Mole''. Retrieved on 2 August 2014. Won gold in the hammerthrow at the 2022 commonwealth games in Birmingham

Personal bests

Hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

– (Commonwealth Games 2018) *

Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

– (2012) * Weight throw – (2014) * Discus throw – (2013) *

Javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

– (2010)

International competitions

References

External links