Running News Daily

Less than three seconds was the difference between America’s Grant Fisher winning an Olympic medal in the 10000m in Tokyo

USA's Grant Fisher finished fifth in the 10,000 meters Friday with a time of 27:46.39. Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda won the bronze medal in 27:43.88.

Selemon Barega of Ethiopa won the gold medal with a time of 27:43.22, running the final lap in 53.94 seconds to nip Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who clocked 27:43.63.

"We did what we could to prepare,” Fisher, a former NCAA champion at Stanford, said, “but nothing prepares you like being out there. It’s physical, it’s choppy, guys are making moves.”

It was also hot, not to mention humid.

Fisher, competing in just his third official 10K, was able to stay within striking distance of the top runners going into the last lap, then unleashed a strong finishing kick to move up to fifth in 27:46.39. Cheptegei (27:43.63) and Kiplimo (27:43.88) took the silver and bronze medals, while Kincaid was 15th in 28:11.01, followed one spot later by Klecker in 28:14.18.

"I was just trying to race without fear, put myself in there and give myself a shot at the end,” Fisher, 24, said. “I was really happy with it. That whole thing, it never felt good. I bet even the guys that were 1-2-3 didn’t feel good in that race. I hope, because I felt that way.”

Despite the fifth-place finish, Fisher’s medal hopes are not over.

He’ll be competing in the 5,000 meters – his signature event – next week in Tokyo. The preliminaries are Tuesday, Aug. 3 and the final is Friday, Aug. 6.

Fisher, 24, is a 2015 graduate of Grand Blanc High School, where he was a two-time state and national cross country champion. In track and field, he became the seventh high school runner to break the four-minute barrier in the mile when he recorded a time of 3:59.38 in his final mile race as a senior.

At Stanford, he was a 2017 NCAA outdoor champion in the 5,000 meters. He was a 12-time college All-American.