Parkite Grant Fisher got off to a good start in his bid for another Olympic medal this week, moving into the Olympic 5,000m final on Saturday.
Fisher had to finish his first round heat among the top eight of 19 runners; he finished fourth.
Fisher managed a time of 13:52.44 in the first run. The leading group was tight, with runners one through nine all posting times under 13:52. Favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won Fisher’s second run with a time of 13:51.59.
Norway won both 5,000-meter heats, with Gilje Narve Nordas winning the first heat with a time of 14:08.16.
Ingebrigtsen and Fisher are among the favorites in this event, especially since the reigning 10,000 meter winner of Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei, decided not to participate on Tuesday due to exhaustion after the last race, which ended last Friday.
Only four runners from last Friday’s 10,000-meter race will lace up their spikes for the 5,000-meter final on Saturday, including Fisher.
Another medal for Fisher would make history, as he would become the first American to finish on the podium in both events at the same Games. He came from behind to win last Friday, and he should have an even better chance on Saturday.
The United States has won only five medals in the 5,000 meters since the event was added to the Olympic program in 1912. The country’s only gold medal went to Bob Schul in Tokyo in 1964.
Fisher could also be in contention for the 5,000-meter world record. Cheptegei set a time of 12:35.36 minutes that day, which he achieved in 2020. The Olympic record was set in Beijing in 2008 by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele with 12:57.82 minutes. Fisher’s personal best in this discipline is 12:46.96 minutes.
The winning time in Tokyo three years ago was 12:58.15.
The final heat begins at 11:50 a.m. MDT at the Stade de France just outside Paris. It will be one of the last events of the Paris Games, with the closing ceremony taking place on Sunday evening. The final can be streamed live on NBC’s Peacock: peacocktv.com/sports/olympics.
The Paris Games could be the last for the 27-year-old Parkite, as long-distance runners’ careers are typically short, with many runners like Fisher eventually moving on to the marathon, which Bekele will run on Saturday.
