From 9th at NCAAs to US Steeplechase Champion: Nate Mountain on the Collapse, the Mental Reset, and the Dive That Won Him a National Title + An Inside Look At His PRO Career

2026-08-06

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Six weeks ago, Nate Mountain’s championship dreams died on the last lap of the NCAA final. Turns out they were just getting started.The newly-minted U.S. steeplechase champion joins Dominic to unpack the wildest six-week swing in the sport: a ninth-place “mental implosion” at NCAAs, followed by a full reset in Charlottesville (fewer workouts, more coffee walks and pick-up 21 against a fifty-year-old street baller), and a nothing-to-lose dive across the line at Icahn Stadium to win his first national title by 0.07 seconds.

Six weeks ago, Nate Mountain’s championship dreams died on the last lap of the NCAA final.

Turns out they were just getting started.

The newly-minted U.S. steeplechase champion joins Dominic to unpack the wildest six-week swing in the sport: a ninth-place “mental implosion” at NCAAs, followed by a full reset in Charlottesville (fewer workouts, more coffee walks and pick-up 21 against a fifty-year-old street baller), and a nothing-to-lose dive across the line at Icahn Stadium to win his first national title by 0.07 seconds.

Nate takes us inside those final meters: the stumble on the last barrier, the running-in-a-dream legs, and why he refused to celebrate until his name hit the scoreboard.

From there, the conversation digs into his roots as a St. Xavier kid from Cincinnati who never dreamed of going pro—because kids from Cincinnati don’t go pro; his new chapter with HOKA and what the brand is quietly building; and five years under the legendary Vin Lananna, whose retirement Nate learned about one hour before the rest of the world.

Plus, golf-cart workouts, the finish-line tape Vin wouldn’t let him live down, living with Gary Martin (and getting mistaken for him at Indoor Nationals), the state of American steeplechasing on the road to 2028, and why an Olympic medal is the dream. He closes his season at the Silesia Diamond League on August 23.

Just a kid from Ohio, doing big things.

Tap into the Nate Mountain Special.

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