Ontario distance runner signs pro contract with Nike

The 2025 season marked a series of milestones for Cobourg, Ont.’s Kate Current. The 27-year-old secured her third consecutive spot on Canada’s national team in the women’s 1,500m, lowered her personal best to 4:02.79, and now, she’s taken another major stride—signing her first professional contract with Nike Running.

For Current, the deal carries special meaning. She still remembers racing in Nike’s Zoom Victory spikes as a junior athlete, long before she dreamed of running professionally.

Current becomes the fourth Canadian female runner to sign with the American sportswear giant, following in the footsteps of her national team teammates Gabriela DeBues-Stafford, Lucia Stafford and Simone Plourde.

“For so many years I was told, ‘Run fast and brands will reach out,'” Current told Canadian Running. “Now, putting pen to paper, it’s surreal. It feels like something that’s been a long time coming.”

Current says discussions with Nike began last summer after a breakthrough performance on the European circuit. At a Continental Tour meet in Poznań, Poland, Current shattered her previous 1,500m personal best of 4:06.91 by nearly four seconds. She continued to build on that momentum throughout the season, ultimately lowering her time to 4:02.79, which put her eighth on the Canadian all-time list.

The contract also provides long-awaited financial stability. Since leaving Western University’s track program in 2022, Current says she has largely funded her own career by working part-time while training, in addition to the support from her family and the London Western Track Club.

“It’s kind of a brutal sport that way, you have to spend money to get better,” she said. “In Canada, especially during the university years, there isn’t much exposure. You fly under the radar.”

During her time at Western, Current won multiple U Sports medals in the 1,500m and 3,000m and has maintained close ties with the program since graduating. She continues to work with her longtime coach, Guy Schultz, a setup she was determined to preserve when negotiating this professional deal.

“I love my setup, and I’ve improved every single year,” she said on working with Schultz. “Switching coaches didn’t make sense. That continuity was really important to me.”

Current says she will continue training with the Western University group in London, Ont., while occasionally joining Athletics Canada and Nike training camps in Flagstaff, Ariz., around major competitions.

With no Olympic Games or World Championships on the calendar this season, Current says her focus is to shift away from chasing times and toward racing more aggressively. “I want to get back to winning races,” she said. “The past two years were about running fast, but I’ve started to miss the tactical side. My coach and I are working on getting stronger and adding more speed.”

As part of that progression, Schultz has suggested she test herself over a new distance. She hopes to make her debut in the 5,000m event this February at an indoor meet in Boston.

Before that, she’ll pull on a Canada singlet this weekend at the 2026 World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla. Current is one of four members of Canada’s 4 × 2km mixed relay team, alongside Foster Malleck, Regan Yee and Olympic steeplechase finalist Jean-Simon Desgagnés, competing Saturday afternoon.

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