Roisin Willis
Willis at the 2024 United States Olympic trials | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 6, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||
Event | Middle-distance running | |||||||||||||||||
| College team | Stanford Cardinal | |||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal bests | ||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Roisin Willis (born August 6, 2004)[1] is an American middle-distance runner. She won the 800 meters at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, having previously won gold medals at the 2022 World Under-20 Championships in the women's 800 metres and the 4x400 m relay.
Willis is a two-time NCAA champion in the 800 metres.
Early and personal life
Her mother is Irish track athlete Breeda Dennehy-Willis, who competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Willis attended Stevens Point Area Senior High School in Wisconsin.[2] She attended Stanford University, where she participated in cross country and track and field.[3]
Career
Early career: World U20 Champion
Willis was successful as a high-school athlete. She is the U.S. high-school indoor 800 meters record holder. Her outdoor mark of 2:00.78 recorded in 2021 is a U.S. under-18 record.[4] She holds Wisconsin state records in 400 m, 800 m and 1600 m. Willis qualified to run in the 2020 US Olympic trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, after running 2:00.78 for the 800 m at the Trials of Miles New York City. At the Olympic trials she reached the semi-finals, finishing 13th.[5]
She took silver in the 800 m at the 2022 USATF U20 Outdoor Championships,[6] Two months later, she won the event at the World U20 Championships held in Cali, Colombia, breaking the championship record with a personal best of 1:59.13.[7] This was the first time she ran sub-two minutes in an 800 m race.[8] She added gold for the women's 4 x 400 m relay with an official split time of 51.34.[9]
Collegiate career: Double NCAA champion
As a freshman at Stanford, Willis won the 800m in a time of 1:59.93 at the 2023 NCAA Indoor T&F Championships in Albuquerque, NM, setting a personal best, and meet and facility records in the process. She was also a member of the Stanford team that won the distance medley relay.[1][10] That same year at the NCAA Outdoor T&F Championships she finished 4th in the 800m. Following her freshman year, she signed an NIL deal with New Balance prior to competing at the US Track and Field Championships.[11]
She won the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, running 1:58.13, a new meeting record, which moved her to third on the all-time NCAA list, behind only Athing Mu and Michaela Rose.[12]
2025: USA Champion, turning professional
She won the women's 800 metres title at the 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, winning her semi-final in 1:58.40 and then triumphing in the final in 1:59.26.[13][14][15] She competed in the women's 800 metres at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, without advancing to the semi-finals.[16]
In December 2025, Willis announced she would forego her final year of NCAA eligibility to run professionally.[17] On 24 January 2026, Willis won her debut race as a professional with an indoor personal best in the 800m winning in 1:59.59 at the Indoor Grand Prix, in Boston.[18][19] The following week, Willis lowered the American indoor record for the 800 metres with 1:57.97 at the BU Terrier Classic in Boston. It was the first time Willis had run sub-1:58, indoors or out.[20] On 1 February, Willis won over 600 metres at the Millrose Games in a personal best 1:24.87.[21]
Achievements
Senior
NCAA titles
Junior
References
- ^ a b "Roisin WILLIS – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ "Meet the Six High Schoolers Who Have Qualified to Run at the Olympic Trials". Runners World. June 10, 2021.
- ^ "Roisin Willis' commitment to Stanford caps a year of accomplishments". WSAW.com. November 2021.
- ^ "Halfmiler Roisin Willis Riding A Hot Streak". Trackandfieldnews.com.
- ^ "On the rise:Roisin Willis (US High school 800m record holder)". citiusmag.com.
- ^ "2022 Cross Country Roster". Gostandord.com.
- ^ "Roisin Willis wins 800-meter gold medal at World Junior Championships". WSAW-TV.
- ^ "Super Roisin Willis wins World U20 Championships 800m gold medal with 1:59.13CR". World-track.org. August 3, 2022.
- ^ "Interview:Roisin Willis after winning gold at the world athletics u20 championships 800m". Citiusmag.com.
- ^ "Phenoms Katelyn Tuohy and Roisin Willis Shine at NCAA Indoors". LetsRun.com. March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Chavez, Chris (July 3, 2023). "NCAA Champion Roisin Willis Signs New Balance NIL Deal". Citius Mag. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
- ^ Gault, Jonathan; Johnson, Robert (June 15, 2025). "Doris Lemngole (8:58) & Savannah Sutherland's (52.46) NCAA Records Highlights Women's Final Day". Lets Run. Retrieved June 15, 2025.
- ^ "Women's 800m Results - USATF Outdoor Championships 2025". Watch Athletics. July 31, 2025. Retrieved August 1, 2025.
- ^ Monti, David (August 2, 2025). "Quick 800m Semi-Finals At Toyota USATF Championships - RRW". Runnerspace. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
- ^ Johnson, Weldon (August 4, 2025). "Roisin Willis arrives, Houlihan returns, a brutal weekend for front-runners – Sunday at USATF Championships". Lets Run. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics Championships, Tokyo 2025". World Athletics. September 21, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2025.
- ^ Gill, Katlynn (December 12, 2025). "SPASH graduate Roisin Willis announces the start of her professional running career". wsaw.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ^ "Hoey breaks world 800m short track record with 1:42.50 in Boston". World Athletics. January 24, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
- ^ Gault, Jonathan (January 24, 2026). "8 thoughts on 2026 NBIGP: Elle St. Pierre is BACK, Cam Myers rising, Noah Lyles' WWE intro, & more". Lets Run. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
- ^ Gault, Jonathan (January 30, 2026). "Roisin Willis smashes American indoor 800m record with 1:57.97 in Boston". Lets Run. Retrieved January 31, 2026.
- ^ "Myers, Hocker and Hiltz win track clashes in New York". World Athletics. February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
External links
- Roisin Willis at World Athletics
- Roisin Willis at TFRRS
- Roisin Willis at InterSportStats