Grant Jackson Fisher (born April 22, 1997)[2] is an American middle- and long-distance runner. Fisher holds American records in the 3000 m, two mile, 5000 m, and 10,000 m events. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Fisher won bronze medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m, becoming the first American to medal in both events at an Olympic Games.
In high school, Fisher was named Gatorade Player of the Year for cross country for the 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 seasons.[3] On June 4, 2015, he became the seventh American high school student to run a mile under four minutes. An eleven-time All-American, Fisher won the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field 5000 m championship, becoming the first American underclassman to do so in 28 years.[4]
Personal life
Grant Fisher was born in Calgary, Alberta, on April 22, 1997, to Dan and Sonia Fisher. He has an older sister, Hailey, and a younger brother, Mark. He grew up in Grand Blanc, Michigan and attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.[5][6] In addition to running, Fisher was an avid soccer player. He began playing the sport when he was four years old and in high school was a member of the Michigan Wolves, an elite level club team.[5] Fisher now trains in Park City, Utah, under the guidance of Coach Mike Scannell.
Early career
While living in Grand Blanc, Michigan, Fisher began running in the spring of his seventh grade year, after joining his middle school cross country team. When he became a freshman in high school, Fisher joined both the soccer and cross country teams, where he made varsity for both.[5]
In 2011, Fisher qualified for the state cross country meet and ran a 16:14 to finish 28th.[7] In the spring of 2012, he qualified for the state meet in the 1600 meter run,[8] he ran a 4:30.23.[9] In the fall of his sophomore year (November 2012), he missed the Michigan state cross country meet because he had to play for his soccer team in the state finals game. In the spring of 2013, he ran personal bests of 3:50.30 at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics in the 1500 meter run, 4:11.27 in the 1600 meter at the KLAA Lakes Conference Meet, 4:12.74 in the mile run at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals meet, and 8:32.65 in the 3000 at the USATF World Youth Trials, and 9:04.33 in the 3200 at the Michigan state meet.
In the fall of his junior year (2013), he had personal bests of 15:02 at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional to win the event. Fisher then went on to the Foot Locker Nationals, which he won as well. In the spring of his junior year (2014), Fisher set personal bests of 1:55.76 in the 800 meter run, 3:49.62 in the 1500 meters at the World Junior Championships, 4:10.82 in the 1600 meter to win the division one state meet in Michigan, a 4:02.02 in the mile to win the event at the Adidas Grand Prix, 8:55.75 in the 3200 meter run to win JD's Invitational, and an 8:51.28 in the two mile run to win the event at the Brooks PR Invitational.
The fall of his senior year (2014), Fisher ran a 14:43.00 to win the Portage Invitational and a 15:03 to win 2014 Foot Locker Nationals.[6] This victory made Fisher one of only 5 boys to ever win two Foot Locker national titles (the others included Abdirizak Mohamud, Lukas Verzbicas, Edward Cheserek, and Dathan Ritzenhein).[10] In Spring of 2015, Grant Fisher became the 7th high school athlete to break 4 minutes in the mile, tying Matthew Maton's time of 3:59.38.[11][12][13]
While competing for Stanford University from 2015 to 2019, Fisher was a 12-time All American.[14] He competed four times in the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, improving from a 17th place finish his freshman year to second place his senior year. Fisher also recorded top finishes in the 5000 m at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He was sixth as a freshman in 13:30.13, a time that qualified the 19-year-old for the 2016 United States Olympic trials.[15] As a sophomore in 2017, he won a national title in the event, becoming the first American underclassmen in 28 years to win the NCAA title for 5000 m.[16] At subsequent championships, Fisher did not regain the title, finishing third as a junior and second as a senior.
Fisher also achieved runner up finishes at the NCAA Division I Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships. In 2019, he placed second in the 3000 m and was part of the distance medley relay team that also finished second.[17] During the 2019 indoor track season, Fisher recorded the fourth fastest time ever by a collegian for the indoor 3000 m at the Millrose Games, running 7:42.62 to beat rival Morgan McDonald by half a second. After graduating from the university, the 22-year-old announced his decision to turn professional in June 2019 to compete for the Nike-sponsored Bowerman Track Club.[18]
Professional career
2020
Fisher placed 4th in the 3000m at the Boston University Last Chance Invitational on February 27, 2020. His teammates Lopez Lomong, Ryan Hill, and Evan Jager finished ahead of him. Grant's time of 7:39.99 was a PR for the distance and his first time under 7:40.[19]
In the summer of 2020, Bowerman Track Club held several intrasquad meets in due to the lack of the races during the COVID-19 pandemic. During these races, Fisher set new PRs of 3:36.23 for 1500m and 13:11.68 for 5000m. He was also part of the 4 × 1500 m team who broke the American Record in 14:34.97. The meets were held in undisclosed locations around Portland, Oregon.
2021 - Breakthrough to international level
Fisher began 2021 with a series of personal bests, starting with a 7:37.21 in the 3000 m at the Prickly Pear Invitational on February 6.[20] Later that month, he improved his 10000 m time to 27:11.29 at The Ten. This time was the fifth fastest ever run by an American in the event, and it met the Olympic qualifying standard.[21] On March 6, Fisher set another personal best in the 5000 m with a time of 13:02.53 at the Sound Running Invite, also achieving the Olympic standard.[22]
In June, the 24-year-old competed in the 2020 United States Olympic trials. He finished second in the 10000 m, in a tightly contested race against Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker.[23] In the 5000 m, he finished second behind Paul Chelimo.[24] Less than half a second separated the top three finishers, who all ran their last lap under 53 seconds. Fisher's top three finishes in both these events qualified him to participate in the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. At the Games, Fisher finished fifth in the 10000 m in 27:46.39.[25] He returned to the track to finish ninth in the 5000 m in 13:08.40.[26]
2022 - World Championships success; 3km, 5km, & 10km American records
In 2022, Fisher set four North American records and became the first American to run the 5000 m in under 12:50 and the 10000 m in under 26:40. His record-breaking year began at Boston University on February 12, where he set a North American record in the indoor 5000 m with a time of 12:53.73. His time surpassing the previous record of 13:01.26 held by Galen Rupp.[27] On March 6, at The Ten, he broke another North American Record in the 10000 m, clocking a time of 26:33.84.[28] This mark placed him seventh on the all-time list for the distance.[29]
On May 27, Fisher placed second in 10000 m at the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships behind Joe Klecker in 28:28.80. He then won his first national title at these championships on June 26, winning the 5000 m in 13:03.86.[30] His performances in these events qualified him for both distances at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. On July 17 in Eugene, Fisher placed fourth in the 10000 m final, tying Galen Rupp for the best finish ever in the event at a world championship by an American.[31] He also finished fourth in the 5000 m final.
After the World Championships, Fisher participated in three Diamond League events, where he notched several top-three finishes and set two more North American records. On August 10, he set a record of 7:28.48 in the 3000 m at the Monaco Diamond League to finish third.[32] The following month, he set another record of 12:46.96 over 5000 m at the Brussels Diamond League behind Jacob Krop.[33] Fisher concluded his season with a third-place finish at the Diamond League Final in Zurich on September 7.
2023 - Injuries culminate in departure from Bowerman Track Club
Fisher competed in the 10000m at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on July 6 in a bid to qualify for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He did not finish in the top three, as needed to qualify for Worlds, fading to fourth on the final lap.[34] An MRI after the race revealed an injury to his femur, and he scratched from the 5000 m.[35] While recouping from his injury, Fisher engaged in cross-training to maintain his fitness.[36] He resumed competition on August 31 at the Zürich Diamond League, where he finished third in the 5000 m in 12.54.49.[37] Fisher followed that performance with a first-place finish in the 3000 m in 7:33.32 on September 6 at the Palio Città della Quercia in Rovereto, Italy.[38] The 26-year-old concluded his season on September 17 by running the 3000 m of the Diamond League Final, hosted by the Prefontaine Classic. He finished third in 7:25.47, behind Yomif Kejelcha and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.[39] Fisher’s time bettered his own American record by three seconds and was the eighth-fastest time ever run in the event.[40]
On October 19, Fisher announced on Instagram that he was leaving the Bowerman Track Club after four years. His entire professional career up to that point had been spent with the team.[41] He later announced in early 2024 that he had relocated to Park City, Utah, and was being trained by his high school coach, Mike Scannell.[42] In an interview, Fisher discussed his decision to leave the club, stating: "I wasn’t the happiest athlete over the past year, and I think that reflected itself quite a bit in my training and my racing and getting injured in the middle of the year."[42]
2024 – Olympic Bronze Medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m
On February 11, 2024, Fisher set an American record in the indoor 2-mile of 8:03.62 at the Millrose Games.[43] His time bested the previous record of 8:07.41 held by Galen Rupp, and he finished second behind Scotsman Josh Kerr, who set a world best. At the 2024 Olympic Trials, Fisher confidently won the 10,000m with a time of 27:49.47 to qualify for his second Olympics. This was his second national title and his first at 10,000m.[44] Fisher doubled back to win the 5000m at the trials with a 13:08.85 just ahead of Abdihamid Nur running 13:09.01. This was the first time Fisher had won the 10000m and 5000m at the same U.S. track championship, and he was the first man to win both events at the trials since Rupp in 2012.
At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in the 10,000 metres final, Fisher secured a bronze medal in a time of 26:43.46, being just outleaned by Ethiopia's Berihu Aregawi, the silver medalist in 26:43.44, while Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei won gold in a new Olympic record of 26:43.14. In this race, 13 men ran faster than the former Olympic record of 27:01.17, set by Kenenisa Bekele in 2008.[45] Fisher is the first American Olympic medalist in the event since Galen Rupp at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Additionally, on the 10th of August 2024, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in the 5000 metres final, Fisher secured a second bronze medal, placing immediately behind R. Kwemoi of Kenya, with a time of 13:15:13.
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