PARK CITY, Utah, Aug. 2, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Park City distance runner Grant Fisher became just the second American man to reach the podium in the 10,000 meters in 60 years, finishing strong to capture the bronze medal Friday at the Paris Olympics.
Fisher, 27, who lives and trains in Park City as part of the Run Elite Program, turned in a season-best time of 26:43.46 to finish third on the purple track of Stade de France. He’s only the fourth U.S. men to medal in the event.
“I’ve been really close to the podium before and to finally get it done at the Olympics, it feels so good,” Fisher told reporters after the race. “There’s so much that has to go right to get on the podium. It feels incredible.”
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei posted an Olympic-record time of 26:43.14 to win gold for his third career medal, while Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi took home the silver medal with a time of 26:43.44.
“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,” Fisher said. “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.”
This is the second Olympic appearance for Fisher, a Grand Blanc, Michigan, native and 12-time All-American at Stanford. He placed fifth in the 10,000 meters and ninth in the 5,000 meters at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The last American to earn a medal in the 10,000 meters came in in 2012, when Galen Rupp won the silver. Prior to that, Billy Mills took home the gold at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, and Lewis Tewanima earned sliver at the Stockholm Games in 1912.
Fisher also credited moving to Park City and his daily high-altitude training for his Olympic success.
“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,” he 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.”
Fisher also talked about the Olympics’ return to Utah in 2034 and noted “there’s talk about cross-country [running] being brought into the Winter Olympics.”
“In 2034, I’ll be a little bit old,” he said, “but maybe I can get a legacy spot on the cross-country team.”
Living and training in Park City also allows Fisher to “rub shoulders … with the skiers, skaters and snowboarders a lot more than the summer athletes, so it’s a fun change,” he said.
Fisher returns the Stade de France track for the 5,000 meters on Wednesday.
