Who Is Isaac Nader? Portuguese Runner Who Stunned the World With 1500m Gold at 2025 World Championships

When you think of an athlete from Portugal, you think of Cristiano Ronaldo; you think of Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva; or if we talk of the track, there’s Rosa Mota, Jonathan Jones, and Fernanda Ribeiro. But today we have a new name: Isaac Nader. He has been showing signs of greatness this season when he won the mile at the Oslo Bislett Games, clocking 3:48.25. For Portugal, he has been their star athlete in middle-distance running. The 1500m national champion of Portugal in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 was a serious talent.

But the World Athletics Championships are a different stage—not only do you have a different psychological pressure, but there are top athletes from around the world in the competition, athletes who have been to the Olympics and previous World Championships, and even won them. But all that star power could not stop this Portuguese star today. If you were watching the 1500m finals in the World Athletics Championships, you might have no nails left. Isaac Nader outran Jake Wightman by two tenths of a second, taking the 1500m world title home in 3:34.10. So, who is he exactly?

Who is Isaac Nader?

Isaac Nader was born on 17 August 1999 in Faro, Portugal, to a Portuguese mother and a Moroccan father. Nader first laced up his spikes in his hometown of Faro, where local athletics clubs gave him a platform to grow as a young runner. He began with CD Faro XXI (2012–2014), where he got his first taste of structured training and competition. A couple of years later, he moved to Areias S. João (2015–2016), continuing to refine his talent against regional rivals. Then came the big break.

In 2017, Nader made the step up to S.L. Benfica, one of Portugal’s most prominent athletic teams. The move marked his transition from a promising regional athlete in the Algarve to a runner prepared for national and international competition, and those opportunities came. But before that, a little more about him.

What is Isaac Nader’s ethnicity, nationality, and religion?

Since the 1500 m world champion was born to a Portuguese mother and a Moroccan father, he has a multicultural ethnicity from both Portuguese and Moroccan backgrounds. But as far as his nationality is concerned, Nader is a Portuguese citizen. As for his religion, there has been no confirmation of it from any trusted sources or Nader himself.

What were Isaac Nader’s biggest achievements before 2025?

We’ve already discussed how good he has been in the outdoor season, claiming the national title for four years straight, but there’s more. Nader also claimed gold at the National Indoor Championships in the 1500m Short Track in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Five straight years of indoor domination, and outdoors, it was no different. And if you think that he was good only at the national level, you’d be mistaken.

In 2021, he first turned heads at the European Team Championships, winning the 3000m in 8:31.26 at the Super League in Chorzów, Poland, a performance that highlighted both his endurance and smart race tactics. That same year, he showed his promise among younger athletes by earning a bronze medal in the 1500 m at the European U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, with a time of 3:40.58.

The following year, 2022, saw him continue to impress more, taking gold in the 1500m at the Ibero-American Championships in La Nucia, Spain, in 3:43.86. Nader returned to Chorzów in 2023 to finish 2nd in the 1500 m, clocking 3:37.37 at the European Team Championships First Division, before reaching another milestone in 2025 with a 1st-place finish in the 1500 m in Madrid, running 3:39.08. Each race added to his growing reputation as one of Portugal’s brightest talents in middle-distance running. And then there’s the 1500m gold in the World Championships.

How did Isaac Nader win gold at the 2025 World Championships?

Nader entered the race where big names like the defending world champion and pre-race favorite, Josh Kerr, the European champion, and another strong medal contender, Jake Wightman, were there. Kerr suffered a calf injury mid-race, severely hampering his performance and causing him to finish last, but still, Wightman was the most favorable athlete to win there.

Wightman kicked hard on the final turn and looked like he would win his second world title, keeping the others behind him with 50 meters to go. The race was slower than past championships, finishing in 3:34.10. Isaac Nader stayed wide and sprinted at just the right moment, passing Wightman in the last meters to win gold by 0.02 seconds. For Nader, who had won a European Indoor bronze before, it was the biggest moment of his career.

What are Isaac Nader’s personal best times?

Isaac Nader has established himself as one of Portugal’s top middle- and long-distance runners. In 2025, he set national records with 3:29.37 in the 1500 m outdoor and 1:43.86 in the 800 m outdoor, while also claiming indoor and short-track records of 3:32.59 in the 1500 m and 1:46.18 in the 800 m.

His fastest outdoor mile is 3:48.25 NR, with an indoor/short-track mile of 3:54.17. He ran 7:53.40 in the 3000 m in Madrid, a 10,000 m track best of 29:57.34 in Lisbon, and on the road clocked 28:01 for 10 km and 4:14.0 for the mile. Clearly, he is the next big thing for Portugal in track and field.