Nelson Cruz (born 1977) is a Cape Verdean athlete, specializing in long-distance running, marathon and half marathon.

Born in Lisbon to Cape Verdean parents, Nelson grew up in Portugal, having visited Cape Verde for the first time in August 2006, where he won the 10,000m run in the National Youth Meeting.

With double nationality (Portuguese and Cape Verdean), Nelson chose to compete for Cape Verde in international events. He is trained by Pedro Pessoa. Having previously represented the Casal de Santo António sports club, He now competes for União Desportiva de Caxienses.