Christina Nisoli, 21, has enjoyed a standout 2026 season, with the University of New Mexico distance runner adding a Mountain West 10,000m title and several personal bests to her growing collegiate career. But while her performances have earned attention on the track, the Italian-born athlete has recently found herself at the center of a very different conversation online.
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On September 11, Nisoli shared a picture of herself wearing a New Mexico track uniform, with a white singlet and red briefs. What immediately caught the attention of some users was her noticeably dark tan, particularly across her arms, shoulders, legs and torso. Soon after the picture appeared online, some people began commenting on her appearance.
One user wrote, “wtf type of tan even is this,” while another responded, “Shorts and heart rate monitor. Next question.” The criticism continued, and another user later claimed that Nisoli appeared to have deleted her Instagram, suggesting she may have faced too much harassment. “Probably too much harassment from these incel mouth breathers,” the user wrote. “Gotta feel for the women in this sport sometimes.”
Nisoli’s Instagram account now appears to be unavailable. However, she has not publicly confirmed that she removed the account. For now, the connection between the comments and the apparent disappearance of her account remains unconfirmed.
Away from the online discussion, Nisoli has plenty to celebrate from her 2026 season. The University of New Mexico distance runner won the women’s 10,000m at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships in 34:12.20, securing her first conference title.
The victory came after a major improvement in the event. Earlier in the season, Nisoli ran 33:07.15 in the 10,000m at the Stanford Invitational, taking more than 100 seconds off her previous personal best. She also recorded strong marks in the 3000m and 5000m during the season. Her progress eventually earned her a place in the NCAA West First Round, where she competed in the 10,000m. The opportunity marked another step forward for a runner who had continued building her career since making her collegiate debut in cross country in 2022.
Nisoli had already made an impression during that first college season. She won the Colorado Springs XC Open 6K in 22:43.1 and earned both Mountain West Athlete of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors. Her achievements were not limited to running, either.
The Los Alamos, New Mexico, native graduated from Los Alamos High School in 2022 with honors and was named a Presidential Scholar. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and became the Southwest Lieutenant Governor of Key Club during her senior year. Her community involvement earned her the Stephen Stoddard Scholarship from the Los Alamos Kiwanis Club.
Her journey has also included difficult moments. Nisoli previously described the COVID-19 period during high school as difficult and lonely, saying her involvement in Key Club and community service helped her through that time. That makes the reaction to her recent Instagram post even more striking. After a season in which Nisoli won a conference championship, set new personal bests and reached the NCAA postseason, much of the online conversation turned toward something unrelated to her running.