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NEWS: Washington Standout & World University Games 5k Champion Julia David-Smith Signs NIL Deal With Nike

  • Aimee Mackenzie
  • May 12
  • 2 min read

Written by Aimee Morganti, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin

University of Washington’s Julia David-Smith has inked a "Name, Image and Likeness" (NIL) deal with Nike. Her contract was announced last week on her Instagram page.


The Husky distance standout joins South Carolina’s Salma Elbadra as Nike's most recent NIL signings among the NCAA distance running scene. The Swoosh-based brand has also recently signed women such as Mia Barnett (formerly of Oregon) and Sydney Vaught (formerly of Arkansas) to pro contracts as well.


In regards to her signing, Julia David-Smith stated...

“Excited to announce that I’ve joined the Nike family!! Extremely grateful for this NIL partnership.”


The Washington athlete secured an All-American accolade on the indoor oval back in 2025, earning an 8th place finish in the DMR at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She led-off Washington’s DMR lineup with a 1200-meter split of 3:23.22.


David-Smith has made four national meet appearances throughout her collegiate career so far. Two of those instances came on the track, where she placed 10th at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships in the DMR and was 19th over 5000 meters at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships.


At the NCAA XC Championships, David-Smith placed 58th and 73rd at the 2023 and 2024 edition of the meet. That 58th place finish at the 2023 cross country national meet gave the Husky women an 8th place result in the team standings that year.



David-Smith has been a seven-time top-10 finisher across the BIG 10 and PAC-12 Championships. Since the University of Washington has joined the BIG 10, David-Smith has placed 4th over 3000 meters (2026), 4th over the 5000 meters on the outdoor oval (2025) and 5th over 3000 meters (2025).

 

This past summer, Julia David-Smith was the 2025 FISU World University Games 5000-meter champion. There, she won gold in a new personal best of 15:34.57 whilst representing France. She also led France’s U23 women’s cross country team to victory at the 2025 SPAR U23 European XC Championships by placing 5th, individually.


Nationally, David-Smith has secured silver and bronze medals over 1500 meters over the 2024 and 2023 U23 French Championships. Over the past year, David-Smith has set four personal bests between the 1500 meters (4:10), the mile (4:34), the 3000 meters (8:54) and the 5000 meters (15:34).




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