The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 69 BY CHRIS BALAS F ormer Michigan distance runner Nick Willis never really under- stood American football when he first arrived in Ann Arbor back in 2003. The Lower Hutt, New Zealand, na- tive also couldn't quite comprehend why, even when other teams on cam- pus were struggling, he and his team- mates never quite got the recognition the money-making programs did, es- pecially when his group was compet- ing for national championships. Thirteen years later, Willis has got- ten more than his share of the atten- tion he deserves, both nationally and internationally. The former two-time national champion (the indoor mile and distance medley in 2005) at Michi- gan took home his first medal, a silver, in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games for the 1,500 meters and was a surprise bronze medalist this year in Rio. He's also come around when it comes to Michigan football. "It took me a long time to under- stand the intricacies of the game," he admitted. "Also, as an athlete and competitor you feel like, 'Why aren't we getting the attention? We're win- ing national championships.' There was a little competitiveness against the other sports at the time. "When I was in college, too, I was just always so exhausted on football Saturdays. We'd go for 18-mile long runs on Saturday morning, sell park- ing at our house on South Division before the games, and then I'd sleep for most of the game and watch the final five minutes." But now he's a "huge, huge fan" and part of a fraternity of Michigan's best athletes that includes many for- mer gridiron greats. In finishing third in Rio, Willis became the oldest man, at 33, to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 meters and only the eighth man to have won two Olympic medals in the event. He initially captured bronze in 2008, but was awarded silver when second-place finisher Rashid Ramzi was disqualified following a positive drug test. His journey to becoming one of the world's top runners started with a phone call to track coach Ron War- hurst. The first conversations weren't overly encouraging, only because Michigan's program was elite and — Willis admitted — his times weren't yet where they needed to be. "I wanted to go to a school where there was a proven record of their ath- letes having success beyond their four years in college," he said. "The pre- vailing sentiment overseas was that if you went to America, they would use and abuse you and just get each and every bit of energy out of you while you were in college. You'd get burned out and have nothing left." But the success of Kevin Sullivan, who is now the Michigan cross coun- try coach — he reached the Olympic Games in 2000, 2004 and 2008 for Canada, finishing fifth in the 1,500 in 2000 — caught Willis' attention. "I knew his coach must know how to balance having success in college but not burning them out and allow- ing them to have a successful pro- fessional career afterward," he said. "That's when I knew. I didn't know who Ron Warhurst was. I just knew he was the coach of Kevin Sullivan, and that was good enough for me." Willis proved to be good enough for Michigan, and immediately. He was named the 2003 Big Ten Fresh- man of the Year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons and became a five-time NCAA All-American and six-time Big Ten champion in his ca- reer. He started his Olympic journey in the 2004 Athens Games for his na- tive New Zealand, reaching the semi- finals of the 1,500-meter run. Warhurst was by his side as his coach and has remained there. "He's still my coach now and is one of my best friends, one of my wife [Sierra's] best friends," Willis said. "We're part of his family, and he's a very special part of mine. He had the humility to allow Sierra, when we got married, to come into the fold. Many coaches would find that threatening, or someone without a running back- ground just a distraction, but he saw how important that was going to be. "She's been my assistant coach for WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Distance Runner Nick Willis, A Two-Time Olympic Medalist, Isn't Done Yet In Rio, Willis, at 33, became the oldest man to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 meters, tak- ing the bronze, and only the eighth man to have won two Olympic medals in the race. PHOTO BY DOM CHANNON