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Nick Miller (hammer thrower)

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Nick Miller
Personal information
Born (1993-05-01) 1 May 1993 (age 31)
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight112 kg (247 lb)
Sport
Country Great Britain
 England
SportAthletics
EventHammer Throw
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
Athletics World Cup
Silver medal – second place 2018 London Hammer throw
European Athletics U23 Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Tallinn Hammer throw
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Glasgow Hammer throw
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Hammer throw
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham Hammer throw

Nicholas Miller (born 1 May 1993) is a British track and field athlete who specialises in the hammer throw. He was the gold medallist at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Commonwealth Games, a silver medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the gold medal at the 2015 European Athletics U23 Championships. He holds the British record of 80.26 m (263 ft 3+34 in) for the event.

He represented Great Britain at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics and the 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships. He studied at Oklahoma State University and is a five-time Big 12 Conference champion (three times in hammer, twice in weight throw). His personal best in the weight throw of 23.07 m (75 ft 8+14 in) is the British record. He is also a two-time runner-up at the NCAA Championships.

Career

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Early life and career

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Born and raised in Carlisle, Cumbria,[1] he became interested in athletics after working with Jack Harper-Tarr, a physical education teacher and athletics judge.[2][3] Miller began training in throwing events at the local club, Border Harriers & Athletics Club, where Harper-Tarr coached.[4] Miller preferred individual sports and also took part in karate, winning a national youth age-category competition.[3] Initially, he competed in a variety of track and field throwing events, but he became increasingly interested in the hammer throw after seeing a rival youngster throw beyond sixty metres.[4]

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 66.79 m (219 ft 1+12 in) with the 6 kg hammer. He repeated as champion the following year and also won the English Schools Championships title.[5] After finishing school, he gained an athletic scholarship to study a multi-disciplinary degree at the Oklahoma State University.[3][6] 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.[7]

Move to Oklahoma

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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.[8] Miller was runner-up at his first major college event, the 2012 Big 12 Conference indoor championships. Throwing with the senior weight implement, he set a series of personal bests at the start of the outdoor season: he threw 65.09 m (213 ft 6+12 in) for second at the Texas Relays, before improving to 66.88 m (219 ft 5 in), then 67.06 m (220 ft 0 in).[9] 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 67.56 m (221 ft 7+34 in) before going on to represent Great Britain in the qualifiers at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics.[10]

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 with a school record of 21.48 m (70 ft 5+12 in). In the hammer he cleared seventy metres for the first time at the Mt. SAC Relays. He defended his Big 12 hammer title with a stadium record in Waco, Texas and won at the NCAA qualifier meet with a new best of 71.60 m (234 ft 10+34 in).[10] 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 2013 European Athletics U23 Championships, where he also ended the competition in ninth place.[5]

He improved again in the weight throw the following indoor season, culminating a new best mark of 23.07 m (75 ft 8+14 in), 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 74.38 m (244 ft 14 in) – a personal best, school record, stadium record, and Big 12 Conference record. His winning margin was more than fifteen metres.[11] He was runner-up in the NCAA Outdoor hammer throw that year, second only to Matthias Tayala.[12]

Commonwealth medal

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He won his first senior international selection for the 2014 European Team Championships and placed fifth for Great Britain.[5] A week later, he was close to his best at the British Athletics Championships and won his first national title with a mark of 73.96 m (242 ft 7+34 in).[13] This led to his inclusion in the English team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and at the event in Glasgow he threw 72.99 m (239 ft 5+12 in) to take the silver medal behind James Steacy – 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'".[14] Won gold in the hammerthrow at the 2022 commonwealth games in Birmingham

Personal bests

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International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 13th (q) Hammer throw (6 kg) 67.46 m
2013 European U23 Championships Tampere, Finland 9th Hammer throw 66.64 m
2014 European Team Championships Braunschweig, Germany 5th Hammer throw 73.56 m
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 2nd Hammer throw 72.99 m
2015 European U23 Championships Tallinn, Estonia 1st Hammer throw 74.46 m
World Championships Beijing, China 11th Hammer throw 72.94 m
2016 European Championships Amsterdam, Netherlands 25th (q) Hammer throw 67.76 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 22nd (q) Hammer throw 70.83 m
2017 World Championships London, United Kingdom 6th Hammer throw 77.31 m
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 1st Hammer throw 80.26 m GR NR
World Cup London, United Kingdom 2nd Hammer throw 76.14 m
European Championships Berlin, Germany 10th Hammer throw 73.16 m
2019 World Championships Doha, Qatar 10th Hammer throw 75.31 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 6th Hammer throw 78.15 m
2022 World Championships Eugene, United States 11th Hammer throw 73.74 m
European Championships Munich, Germany 8th Hammer throw 77.29 m

References

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  1. ^ Nicholas Miller. Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  2. ^ Jack Harper-Tarr Obituary. Cumberland News (22 April 2011). Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b c Henderson, Jason (8 June 2014). Nick Miller has sights set on Glasgow 2014. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b Member Insight Winter 2010 Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Border Harriers (2010). Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Nick Miller. Power of 10. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  6. ^ Little, Amanda (8 July 2014). Carlisle hammer thrower Nick Miller on food, fitness, his American dream and going for gold. News and Star. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  7. ^ Nick Miller Throws His Weight Around. TrackBoundUSA. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  8. ^ John Baumann. Oklahoma State Cowboys. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  9. ^ Nick Miller. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  10. ^ a b Nick Miller. Oklahoma State Cowboys. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  11. ^ Miller Cruises To Third Big 12 Hammer Title. Oklahoma State Cowboys (14 May 2014). Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  12. ^ Miller Claims Second Place In NCAA Hammer. Oklahoma State Cowboys (12 June 2014). Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  13. ^ Miller Takes Hammer Throw Title at British Championships. Oklahoma State Cowboys (28 June 2014). Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
  14. ^ Corkhill, Barney (30 July 2014). Nick Miller: 'It is a fantastic achievement'. Sports Mole. Retrieved on 2 August 2014.
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