Grant Fisher Runs A Tactically Smart Race, Overcomes A Stumble And Wins 10,000m Bronze On Opening Night Of Track & Field
by Brian Pinelli
ST. DENIS - For most of the exhausting 10,000-meter race, Grant Fisher found a comfortable stride, well-positioned between third and fourth places in the company of three Ethiopian opponents. Strategically tucked along the inside rail of the track, Fisher appeared to save energy, looked poised and ran tactically smart throughout the 25-lap race.
Observing Fisher’s tactics and determination – especially as he kicked it up a gear coming around the penultimate bend – brought shades of the legendary Billy Mills, who ran arguably the most exciting and inspiring American Olympic distance race in history. The native American distance running great pulled off a major upset, winning gold with an explosive kick at the Olympic Games Tokyo 1964.
Fisher clocked a season best time of 26:43.46 on the purple Stade de France track on Friday night, but was edged in a photo finish at the line by Berihu Aregawi of Ethiopia, narrowly missing silver, but winning bronze.
“I’ve been really close to the podium before and to finally get it done at the Olympics, it feels so good – there’s so much that has to go right to get on the podium,” Fisher told reporters after the race. “It feels incredible.
“It was a fast, fast pace and I felt like I was in a good position the whole way, and I just gave it everything from a lap to go.
“I don’t have the lights out speed to make up a ton of ground at the last minute, so I had to be in good position and it worked out well,” he said.
The 12-time All-American from Stanford finished just 0.32 seconds behind race winner and world record holder Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who established a new Olympic record of 26:43.14.
Fisher even overcame a near fall in the race. It could have all ended disastrously.
“It was decently late in the race – I think we might have been lapping someone, there was just a lot of movement and I got clipped up, stumbled, stepped on the rail and managed to stay up,” Fisher said. “It’s a 10k, so there’s time to recover, but it was a little bit rattling.”
The 27-year-old – who was born in Calgary, Canada, but has dual citizenship – achieved the first U.S. medal in the 10,000m since Galen Rupp won silver at the Olympic Games London 2012. The previous U.S. medal prior to Rupp belonged to Mills.
“I met Billy Mills when I was a sophomore in high school – he gave a speech at a Michigan coaches association banquet,” Fisher said. “I have a t-shirt signed by Billy Mills from when I was a kid.
“He’s one of the few people that have stood on top of the podium for men’s distance races for the U.S. – he very inspiring, has a great story and I’m proud to continue that legacy a little bit and get a medal for the U.S.”
Fisher claimed Team USA’s first track and field medal of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, coming on the opening night of action at the Stade de France. The 2024 U.S. national champion improved upon both his fifth-place finish at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and a fourth-place showing at the Athletics World Championships Eugene 2022.
Relishing Training At Altitude In Park City, Utah #
Fisher is the second resident of Park City, Utah, to win a medal at the Paris Games, following Haley Batten, who charged to silver in the mountain biking cross-county event last weekend. Fisher moved to the Olympic ski resort town, which will once again host the Winter Games in 2034, to reap the benefits of daily high-altitude training.
“I made a big change a year ago and one of the pieces to the change was to move to Park City and spend more time at altitude,” Fisher said. “Everyone that medals in the 10k year after year, pretty much lives at altitude.
“It’s been fantastic – it’s a beautiful place, there’s great community and the training is great. I love it and it’s worked out so well.
“There’s talk about cross-country (running) being brought into the Winter Olympics. In 2034, I’ll be a little bit old, but maybe I can get a legacy spot on the cross-country team.
“I rub shoulders in Park City with the skiers, skaters and snowboarders a lot more than the summer athletes, so it’s a fun change.”
Fisher returns the Stade de France track for his second race of the Paris Games on August 7 – the 5,000m, an event at which he finished ninth in at Tokyo 2020.