Nicole Bush (born April 4, 1986) is an American

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes in the

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

. Her personal record for the event is 9:24.59 minutes. She was the 2013 American champion in the steeplechase. She competed collegiately for the Michigan State Spartans and her best placing was second at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in 2009. She was also runner-up at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in 2010.

Career

Early life and college

Born in Wyoming, Michigan, Bush attended

Kelloggsville High School Kelloggsville may refer to: * Kelloggsville, New York * Kelloggsville, Ohio See also *Kelloggsville Public Schools Kelloggsville Public Schools is a school district located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Wyoming, Michigan, and Kentwood, Michigan. ...

and established herself as a distance runner with four state titles in the 3200 m, and three state titles in both the 1600 m and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

. After graduating high school in 2004 she went to

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

. In her sophomore year (2006), she proved herself as a steeplechaser by placing fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championship and third at the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

meet. In 2007, she was runner-up at the Big Ten championship, sixth at the

NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships are the annual collegiate track and field competitions for women athletes representing Division I institutions organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). At ...

and came fifth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.Nicole Bush Michigan State University Profile
Michigan State Spartans. Retrieved on 2013-07-28. In the 2008 indoor season Bush came second in the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

and third in the

3000 meters The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

at the Big Ten Indoor Championship, then placed fourth and sixth in those events at the NCAA Indoor Championship. She didn't compete collegiately outdoors that year but instead competed at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials. She ran a personal record for the steeplechase with 9:40.27 minutes but did not make the Olympic team as she placed fourth overall. She was the gold medalist at the 2008 NACAC Under-23 Championships in 10:42.17 contributing to the 62 US Medals in

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. With a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in M ...

. In her final year with Michigan State she came ninth at the 2008

NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and ...

. In May 2009 her run of 9:39.38 at the

Payton Jordan Payton Jordan (March 19, 1917 – February 5, 2009) was the head coach of the 1968 United States Olympic track and field team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. ...

Invitational raised her to fifth on the all-time collegiate lists. At the Big Ten Championships she won her first title with a meet record time of 9:41.87 minutes for the steeplechase. She also placed second in the 5000 m with a then personal record time of 15:55.41 minutes. In her last competition for her school she was the steeplechase runner-up at the 2009

. Bush also competed at the national championships indoors and out in 2009. At the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

she placed seventh in the 3000 m.Nicole Bush
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-07-28. At the

2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2009 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships took place between June 25–28 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. The competition acted as a way of selecting the United States team for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin later ...

an official left one of the barriers at an incorrect height, leading Bush to fracture the cuboid bone in her right foot. This ended any possibility of making the team for the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...

.Lotsbom, Chris (2013-06-22)
2013 USATF Women’s Steeplechase: Nicole Bush Wins Four Years After Breaking Her Foot at World Trials
Let's Run. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.

Professional

After recovering from her foot injury, she returned to competition as a New Balance professional athlete in mid-2010. She ran personal records for the

mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

(4:36.27) and 3000 m (9:15.71). Bush was runner-up at the

2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2010 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Drake Stadium, Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa on June 23–27, 2010. In order to boost the visibility of this event, USATF sponsored a member appreciation tent at the event and ...

in 9:56.08 behind Lisa Aguilera. Her best steeplechase run that season (9:40.49) came in Belgium. Her times were nearer ten minutes in the 2011 season and she placed tenth at the

2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place from June 23–26 and served as the national championships in track and field for ...

. Bush placed 21st at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials and having a best of 10:03.92 minutes that year. Bush returned to the form not seen since her college years in 2013. At the

Ponce Grand Prix The Ponce Grand Prix de Atletismo is a track and field competition held yearly in Ponce, Puerto Rico at the Francisco Montaner Stadium. The event started in 2007, after the successful hosting of the 2006 Ibero-American Championships.Robinson, ...

she ran a personal record of 9:39.36 minutes then claimed the national title at the

2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 20–23 in conjunction with the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Champions ...

. This meant she had achieved the "A" standard and would be selected for the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

to compete in the

placing 25th in 9:58.03. Bush ran 9:24.59 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Heusden-Zolder Heusden-Zolder (; li, Heuze-Zolder ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian Limburg (Belgium), province of Limburg near Hasselt. On 1 January 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769. The total ar ...

in July 2014. Bush placed 8th at

2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...

in 9:48.08. Bush ran 9:44.68 in New York at

New York Diamond League The USATF New York Grand Prix is an annual athletics meeting held at Icahn Stadium in New York City, United States. The event was part of the IAAF Grand Prix from 2007 to 2009. For 2010 it was promoted to the top-level Diamond League through 2 ...

in June 2015. Bush placed 11th at

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

in 9:54.51. Bush ran in 2016

Great Edinburgh International Cross Country The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country was an annual cross country running competition that took place every January in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and was held alongsi ...

helping Team USA to finish 5th. Bush ran 9:39.84 in Portland at Lewis & Clark College in June 2016. Bush placed 13th at 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field) in 9:58.04.

Personal bests

3000 meters steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the h ...

– 9:24.59 min (2014) *

1500 meters The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

– 4:13.83 min (2014) *

One mile The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...

– 4:36.27 min (2010) *

(indoor) – 9:04.35 min (2009) *

– 15:31.41 min (2014)

References

External links

*
Nicole Bush
at

IAAF Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

*
Nicole Bush
at All-Athletics.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bush, Nicole 1986 births Living people American female long-distance runners American female steeplechase runners Michigan State Spartans women's track and field athletes People from Wyoming, Michigan USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Michigan State Spartans women's cross country runners 21st-century American sportswomen