Parkite Grant Fisher is off to a good start in his quest for another Olympic medal this week, advancing to the Olympic 5,000-meter final on Saturday.
Fisher needed to finish his round-one heat in the top eight of 19 runners; he finished fourth.
Fisher turned in a time of 13:52.44 in the first round. The lead pack was tight, with runners one through nine all posting sub-13:52 times. Event-favorite Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won Fisher’s second heat with a time of 13:51.59.
Norway swept both 5,000-meter heats, with Gilje Narve Nordas winning heat one with a time of 14:08.16.
Ingebrigtsen and Fisher are a few of the favorites in the event, especially with reigning Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 10,000-meter champion Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei pulling out Tuesday due to fatigue from the latter race, which finished last Friday.
Only four runners from last Friday’s 10,000-meter race will be lacing their spikes up Saturday for the 5,000-meter final, including Fisher.
Another medal for Fisher would create history, as he’d be the first American ever to double-podium the events at the same Games. He had a come-from-behind triumph last Friday, and Saturday he should have an even better shot.
The U.S. has only had five 5,000-meter medals since the event joined the Olympic lineup in 1912. Bob Schul is the country’s only gold, back in Tokyo 1964.
The world record in the 5,000-meter could also be in play for Fisher with a career day at 12:35.36, set in 2020 by Cheptegei. The Olympic record was set in 2008 in Beijing by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele at 12:57.82. Fisher’s personal-best time is at 12:46.96 in the event.
The winning time in Tokyo three years ago was 12:58.15.
The final heat will go off at 11:50 a.m. MDT at the Stade de France just outside of Paris. It will be one of the Paris Games’ final events, with the closing ceremony being held Sunday night. The final can be live-streamed on NBC’s Peacock: peacocktv.com/sports/olympics.
The Paris Games could be the 27-year-old Parkite’s last, given that distance runners typically have short careers. Many runners like Fisher end up moving onto the marathon event, which Bekele will be running Saturday.