James Gunnar Nixon (born January 13, 1993) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He broke the American high school record for the event in 2011, and was the World Junior Champion in 2012. He won his first national title indoors in 2013, and was runner-up at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal record for the decathlon is 8,312 points at the 2013 IAAF World Championships. In 2011, he set the United States high school national record in the decathlon (using junior implements) with a score of 8,035 points.

Career Born in Weatherford, Oklahoma, he was the fourth child of Tim and Kerri Nixon. He was raised in Tulsa until he moved to Edmond as a high school sophomore. He attended Edmond Santa Fe High School, where he started taking part in decathlon competitions and broke the national high school record with a score of 8,035 points (which brought him the Gatorade Track and Field Athlete of the Year Award in the men's section). He won at the Arcadia Invitational high school competition with a meet record of 7,573 points (with junior implements).Arcadia Invitational All-Time Lists. Arcadia Invitational. Retrieved on 2013-08-10. He entered the individual high jump at the 2012 Summer Youth Olympics and placed sixth in his final.Boy's High Jump Final A . Singapore2010. Retrieved on 2013-08-10. At the 2011 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships he took the silver medal in the decathlon behind American team mate Kevin Lazas.Pan American Junior Championships 2011 . World Junior Athletics History. Retrieved on 2013-08-10.

He won an athletic scholarship to study at the University of Arkansas. In his first season for the Arkansas Razorbacks he broke the world junior record for the indoor heptathlon with a score of 6,022 points. He followed this with a runner-up finish at the Southeastern Conference indoor championships, then gained his first All-American honours with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championship. In the outdoor season he came third at the SEC Outdoor Championship meet then came fifth with an American junior record of 7,892 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championship. He won both the American junior title, and the gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics.

Nixon started the 2013 indoor season with a heptathlon personal record of 6,232 points to win at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships – his first national title.Gunnar Nixon. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2013-08-10. At the Hypo-Meeting in Europe in May he broke 8,000 points for the first time in a decathlon with senior implements, taking third place with a score of 8,136 points.Sampaolo, Diego (2013-05-26). Canada's Warner and Theisen triumph in Gotzis - IAAF Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-08-10. Forgoing collegiate competition that year, he focused on the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. There he led for the first day but fell behind Ashton Eaton in the second day to close the decathlon with a personal record of 8,198 points for second place.Mulkeen, Jon (2013-06-23). Eaton and Day win US combined events titles – IAAF Combined Events Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-08-10. This earned him selection for the 2013 World Championships in Athletics.

Fall 2013 Joined Coach Jeremy Fischer and Craig Poole at USA Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California. Coach Art Venegas will assist in the throws.

Personal bests Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.

Outdoor +Individual events Event Performance Location Date Long jump Ardmore May 13, 2011 High jump Ardmore May 13, 2011 100 meters 10.85 Atlanta May 17, 2013 300 meters hurdles 36.93 Oklahoma City May 17, 2011 Shot put Chula Vista June 17, 2013 Discus throw Chula Vista April 24, 2014

+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Score Decathlon Moscow August 10–11, 2013 8,312 points 100 meters 10.80 Des Moines June 21, 2013 906 points Long jump Moscow August 10, 2013 1,010 points Shot put Santa Barbara April 4, 2014 792 points High jump Bloomington June 15, 2012 963 points 400 meters 48.37 Arcadia April 8, 2011 931 points 110 meters hurdles 14.34 Bloomington June 16, 2012 931 points Discus throw Moscow August 11, 2013 713 points Pole vault Salzburg May 24, 2014 819 points Javelin throw Des Moines June 22, 2013 744 points 1500 meters 4:22.36 Barcelona July 11, 2012 796 points Virtual Best Performance 8,565 points

Indoor +Individual events Event Performance Location Date 60 meters hurdles 8.09 Nampa February 1, 2014 High jump Fayetteville January 13, 2012 Pole vault Fayetteville January 6, 2012 Shot put Fayetteville January 6, 2012

+Combined events Event Performance Location Date Score Heptathlon Albuquerque March 1–2, 2013 6,232 points 60 meters 6.86 Albuquerque March 1, 2013 933 points Long jump Fayetteville January 27, 2012 942 points Shot put Birmingham February 7, 2014 754 points High jump Fayetteville January 27, 2012 944 points 60 meters hurdles 7.93 Albuquerque March 2, 2013 999 points Pole vault Albuquerque March 2, 2013 849 points 1000 meters 2:39.08 Nampa March 10, 2012 884 points Virtual Best Performance 6,305 points

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