Scaling Mount Everest is history. Being an Olympian is a legacy. But doing both? That’s something truly rare. Italian cross-country legend Manuela Di Centa did it. So did Austrian judoka Sabrina Filzmoser, Finnish marathoner Anne-Mari Hyryläinen, British rower Steve Williams, and Japanese freestyle skier Gota Miura. All Olympians. All Everest summiters. Different sports, same mindset: push further. Go higher. Don’t stop at glory. Now, another might join that elite list—not a mountaineer by trade, but a sprinter who thrives where milliseconds matterAnd now, he may have added the world’s tallest peak to his name!
They say track runners chase finish lines. But Nick Symmonds chose to chase the clouds. The 2-time U.S. Olympian, who ran the 800m at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, has now done something no one in the world ever has—he’s become the first person to run a sub-4-minute mile and summit Mount Everest.
Let that sink in. A 3:59.68 mile in Nashville back in 2015 already put him in an elite club of runners. But this week, as part of a group of 30 climbers, Symmonds stood on the top of the world—literally. From Boise to the Bird’s Nest. From Willamette University NCAA champion to a 2013 World Championship silver medalist. And now? From elite middle-distance star to Everest summiteer.
On that climb, he was joined by Americans Mr. Wells Lange, Mr. Sam Schwerin, and 17-year-old Emma Schwerin, who just became the youngest American woman to summit Everest. Nepalese Sherpas like Pasang Tendi (on his 18th summit) and Pasang Dawa (his 29th!) helped lead the way. Symmonds wasn’t a tourist—he was part of a driven expedition, one that safely returned to Camp 2 after reaching the summit.
This wasn’t just a bucket-list tick. It was the latest chapter in a post-retirement story that’s still unfolding. After stepping away from track, Symmonds built a YouTube empire and founded Run Gum, his own performance supplement brand. It all started in 2018, when Nick launched his “Mile to Mountain” project. He began by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak at 19,341 feet, in June 2018. This was followed by many mountaineering pursuits, including summiting Puncak Jaya in Indonesia and Denali in Alaska, the tallest mountain in North America.
And this time, it was the Everest. It wasn’t about medals this time. It was about mindset. About proving that the same willpower it takes to fight through lactic acid with 100m to go… is the same that gets you to 8,848–8,850 meters when the air gets thin and doubts get loud.
Track and Field star Nick Symmonds has found his calling in the mountains
He once sprinted down Olympic tracks chasing seconds. The goal behind “Mile to Mountain” was to climb the Seven Summits, the highest peak on every continent. And this May, Symmonds just checked off the biggest one.
“It’s a lifelong project, and I just love climbing,” Symmonds said. After competing for nearly a decade, Symmonds switched tracks—literally. He started with Puncak Jaya Regency in February 2018. He posted a video from Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia: “#NowClimbing Carstensz Pyramid aka Puncak Jaya. This is one of the most crazy adventures I have ever experienced. 30 hours of travel. 7 days of waiting. Rock climbing up to the tallest point in Indonesia and setting a new altitude PR. 4,884 meters (16,024 ft) above Sea Level.”
Just weeks after retiring, he summited Kilimanjaro and shared his success on Instagram on June 26, 2018: “SUCCESS!!! Six days of climbing, but today I stood at the top of Africa! A massive THANK YOU to our incredible guides and porters for making this an amazing climb.”
In November 2023, he paused YouTube but returned by August 31, 2024, with a video on climbing Denali, the highest peak in North America. And now—he’s summited Everest, as part of a 30-member team, becoming the first person to ever run a sub-4-minute mile (3:59.68) and also reach the world’s highest point
“I competed for a minute and 45 seconds on the track,” Symmonds said. “On a mountain, you’re climbing for hours at a time.” While his raw speed may not translate uphill, his mindset does.
“It’s like training for the track,” he said. “People asked me on the track if I was thinking about the Olympics, and I told them it was about training for D3 titles first.”
From sprint spikes to snow boots, Symmonds has now conquered four summits: Kilimanjaro, Carstensz Pyramid, Denali, and Everest. Three more remain. But with the same discipline that made him a world silver medalist, he’s taking it one peak at a time
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