Pastime to Paris: Niklas Klei's Journey to the Olympics

The Kirchlengern, Germany native is representing Choctaw athletics on the international stage.

Niklas Klei after realizing he was the third fastest German in 2024 that year. Photo Credit: Miguel Daberkow

Mississippi College has been home to only one Olympian since the inception of the Olympic Games. Track and field star Larry Myricks has been the only Choctaw to compete in the Olympics, let alone win a medal. However, this may soon change.

The next Choctaw to possibly compete at the Olympic level is 25-year-old graduate student Niklas Klei from Kirchlengern, Germany. Klei recently earned a spot as an alternate on the German track and field team for the 400-meter sprint and 4x400-meter relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics after coming in third in the semi-finals and fifth in the finals at German Nationals.

This feat was preceded by almost two decades of training. Klei’s career began with a desire to follow in his older brother’s footsteps. As a teenager, he trained for decathlons, which consist of 10 track and field events spread out over the course of two days. Germany is well-known for its decathlon athletes, which requires runners to be very well-rounded.

The athlete made his Mississippi College debut in the spring of 2023, coming off of four years at Queens University of Charlotte. When looking at graduate schools, Klei took notice of MC’s biology programs, Christian values, and established teams.

“[MC has] really good athletes and team mentality,” Klei said. “That's not always easy to find. We have coaches that care more about the team spirit and team mentality than just performance. I don't think there's a lot of teams that you will find in the U.S. where that's the case.”

“We noticed that [Klei] was a really strong 400-meter runner,” head cross country and track coach Joe Snyder said. “We thought if he could focus on the 400, that he could have a lot of success with that. Most importantly, we realized that Nik would be a really good fit just for our team culture.” 

“I love to see my body as an engine,” Klei said. “I'm like, okay, how can I try to make this run as smooth as possible— as powerful as possible.” Photo Credit: Miguel Daberkow

MC’s cross country and track programs emphasize work ethic and character above performance, which attracted the decathlete. Klei ended his time at Queens with a personal best (PB) of 47.10 seconds in the 400 meter. During his 2nd season as a Choctaw, the athlete improved his PB by .84 seconds. 

“I love to see my body as an engine,” Klei said. “I'm like, okay, how can I try to make this run as smooth as possible — as powerful as possible.”

Klei once again surpassed his PB at the 2024 German Nationals with a 46.03. This time pushed him to the ranking of third fastest in Germany and earned him his alternate position — but Klei’s Christian faith has given his platform a deeper meaning.

“God [does not care as much] about me doing well,” Klei said. “I came to the conclusion that God cares more about what we do with the success that we get. We're all here with the mission to make disciples among all nations. I want to use my platform to glorify God and to make Him known.”

“His relationship with the Lord has grown a lot,” Snyder said. “He's been able to have some really good mentors. They have Bible studies within the team that they've been able to start together. It has been really cool to see them grow in that aspect. To see him grow in a relationship with the Lord has really helped him immensely to grow as an individual.”

With the end of his last collegiate track season, the runner has taken a voluntary coaching position with the Choctaw cross country team.

Fellow MC teammate, Oliver Ollesch, congratulating Klei after his race. Photo Credit: Miguel Daberkow

Klei’s Olympic dream was not the only goal driving him at MC. He will graduate in December with his Master of Science in Biological Sciences after concluding a thesis project on microplastics in shrimp. Additionally, Klei successfully attempted to break the unofficial world record for the fastest 400-meter sprint run in Crocs with a time of 51.84 seconds. It is both Klei’s work ethic and buoyant attitude that make the athlete a special fit for MC and the cross country/track team.

“People gravitate toward Nik,” Snyder commented. “He provides really good insight for these athletes on what it looks like to compete at a high level and to be a good teammate at the same time. He definitely adds a lot to the environment of the team, the culture of the team, and to our coaching staff.”

Klei hopes to make a comeback at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo and, ultimately, at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.