"Always the faceless accounts"- Tara Davis-Woodhall rallies in support as Nikki Hiltz claps back at hate messages

Tara Davis-Woodhall rallied in support as Nikki Hiltz addressed trolls and hate messages they constantly receive on social media. Hiltz came off the 2025 World Championships, where they narrowly missed the 1500m podium.

Nikki Hiltz, who identifies as transgender and non-binary, has been one of the most promising 1500-meter athletes in track and field history. They came out on the International Transgender Day of Visibility in 2021 and have since been vocal about their journey. However, they have consistently received hate messages from people who fail to look beyond the binary concept of male and female, criticizing Hiltz for competing in the women's category despite not identifying as a woman.

Recently, they also talked about undergoing top surgery after the 2024 Paris Olympics and how that made them feel more like themselves. In a recent video montage of them training, Nikki Hiltz added some loathsome comments they've received. Some of them read:

"Yeah no matter how good you feel about it and how brave 'he is'. It's a man competing against women. Facts. Not sorry."

"Way to set women back 100 years"

"Did a dude beat a woman?"

Hiltz captioned the post as:

"It's actually romantic,"

Reigning Olympic and World champion in the long jump, Tara Davis-Woodhall was quick to comment under the post, rallying in support of her fellow track and field star.

"It’s always the faceless accounts. Do you boo! Do you"

Tara Davis-Woodhall support Nikki Hiltz; Instagram - @nikkihiltz

Hiltz earned indoor national crowns in the 800m and 1500m this season, besides winning more podiums at the Diamond League meets.

Tara Davis-Woodhall once urged people to respect her friend Nikki Hiltz's identity

Hiltz at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - (Source: Getty)

Tara Davis-Woodhall, who broke into the upper echelon of female track and field icons following her Olympic gold medal win, has consistently used her social media platforms to spread awareness about various things. In 2024, the six-time NCAA Division I All-American, Nikki Hiltz, educated their followers about the term, non-binary, and why they compete in the women's category. They also emphasized the importance of others getting their pronouns right, especially when they are competing on the track.

Supporting Hiltz, Tara Davis-Woodhall shared a message on her Instagram handle, urging fans and followers to respect her friend.

"This is my friend Nikki! They're the best and you should respect them! If you don't respect them.. then GTFO MY PAGE!! I won't tolerate anything but love and respect.”

Davis-Woodhall won her first World indoor title in 2024. She also equalled the 36-year-old meeting record at the Stockholm Diamond League this year.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder