Men’s 5000: Grant Fisher completes the double – Runs 3:59.97 final 1600 to win in 13:08.85
By Robert Johnson
Coming into the 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials, American Grant Fisher had accomplished an awful lot. In addition to being the American record holder at 3000 (7:25.47), 2 miles (8:03.62), 5000 (12:46.96), and 10,000 (26:33.84), three times Fisher has finished in the top 6 in the world on the track. But surprisingly there was a big hole on his CV – he’d only won one US outdoor title (the 5000 in 2022).
He’s got three now as this afternoon Fisher ran his final 1600 in 3:59.97 to win the men’s 5000 in an Olympic Trials record of 13:08.85, nine days after he captured the men’s 10,000 on the opening days of the Trials. Fisher narrowly won a thrilling sprint duel over defending champion Abdihamd Nur (13:09.01). Behind them, the collegians Parker Wolfe (UNC) and Graham Blanks (Harvard) were dueling themselves for the all-important third spot, which Wolfe took in a personal best of 13:10.75 as Blanks was 4th in 13:12.61.
Wolfe does not have the 13:05 Olympic standard but we are projecting his world rank will jump to #46 on the Road To Paris list and they take 42 so he might be able to get in to the Olympics if there are some scratches. If not, Blanks will go.
The race
The race started in warm 81-degree temps and the first 800 wasn’t fast (2:11) but then noted kicker Woody Kincaid surprised and slammed the pace down, running a 61.31 between 800 and 1200 to gap the field. What was Kincaid doing? He was trying to make the pace fast as he didn’t have the standard and needed a quick time to be able to boost his ranking high enough so that a top-3 finish would qualify him for one of the few world ranking spots in the 5000.
Kincaid’s lead grew close to 50 meters but eventually Fisher led the chase pack and Kincaid was caught shortly after 2k after running the 1200 between 800 and 2k in 3:09.16. Once caught, the pace lagged as Fisher split 64.66 between 2400 and 2800 (Fisher hit halfway in 6:41.24) before Nur decided he’d lead, running a 65 and 64 before Fisher decided it was time to push for glory.
Last year, Nur went with 1k to go but this year Fisher, perhaps wanting to make sure he got rid of 1500 champ Cole Hocker, pushed from 1400 meters out. Nine guys were still within 2 seconds of the lead at 3600 but almost instantly it became a two-man race up front as Fisher went 59.64, 60.78, 60.13.
With 250 to go, Nur briefly took the lead but Fisher came back and after a spirited battle got the win thanks to a 27.74 final 200 (57.56 final 400).
Race video
Results
| Position | Name | Affiliation | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grant Fisher | NIKE [27] OLY STD | 13:08.85 | MR |
| 2 | Abdihamid Nur | NIKE [25] OLY STD | 13:09.01 | |
| 3 | Parker Wolfe | North Carolina [20] | 13:10.75 | PB |
| 4 | Graham Blanks | New Balance [22] OLY STD | 13:12.61 | SB |
| 5 | Dylan Jacobs | On [24] | 13:17.26 | |
| 6 | Sean McGorty | NIKE/Bowerman TC [29] OLY STD | 13:18.27 | |
| 7 | Cole Hocker | NIKE [23] OLY STD | 13:20.99 | |
| 8 | Ahmed Muhumed | HOKA NAZ Elite [26] | 13:29.23 | |
| 9 | Woody Kincaid | NIKE [31] | 13:31.40 | |
| 10 | Olin Hacker | HOKA NAZ Elite [27] | 13:32.10 | |
| 11 | Morgan Beadlescomb | adidas [26] OLY STD | 13:37.69 | |
| 12 | Cooper Teare | NIKE [24] OLY STD | 13:42.50 | |
| 13 | Willy Fink | Under Armour [30] | 13:43.32 | |
| 14 | Eric van der Els | ZAP Endurance [26] | 13:50.66 | |
| 15 | Kasey Knevelbaard | Under Armour [27] | 13:51.29 | |
| 16 | Sam Prakel | adidas [29] | 14:17.87 |
Grant Fisher had a magnificent week but his season will be judged by how he does in Paris
When the race was over, Fisher immediately ran over and hugged his new (and old) coach Mike Scannell, and for good reason. When Fisher decided to leave the Bowerman Track Club at the end of the 2023 season and return to the tutelage of his high school coach Scannell despite being the US record holder at 3000, 5000 and 10,000, it was a risky proposition that was bound to draw scrutiny.
So far, so good as Fisher at these Trials did something he struggled to do with the Bowerman Track Club: win US titles.
That being said, it remains to be seen if Fisher is truly at a new level in 2024. The reality is he was beaten handily by the top guys in the world in the 5000 at the LA Grand Prix in May and today he wasn’t digging deep to try to beat two-time Olympic 5000 medallist Paul Chelimo as Chelimo didn’t even make the final. Instead, he was going all-out to narrowly beat Abdihamud Nur, a man who has finished just 11th and 12th in the last two 5000 global finals.
Today, in 81-degree weather, Fisher ran 13:08.85 after hitting 3000 in 8:03.93. Last year at Worlds in Budapest, in 86-degree weather, a less than 100% Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who was coming back from illness, won in a very similar time – 13:11.30 – after hitting 3000 in just 8:14.61. Ingebrigtsen’s final 1600 was run in 3:54.14. The bronze medallist Jakob Krop closed in 3:55.31.
In his post-race chat with the media, Fisher, who missed the 10,000 awards ceremony as he went back to Park City, Utah, to be at altitude, said he was surprised the race was fast but he was pleased he was able to dig deep and get the win. He plans on racing the London Diamond League 3k before Paris.
MB: Is Grant Fisher at a new level in 2024? Or do we just think he is because he won USAs twice?
Parker Wolfe admits he has no idea what’s going on with the World Rankings but he knows who to blame if he doesn’t make it to Paris
Parker Wolfe’s breakout 2024 season continued tonight with his third-place showing but he’ll need a few scratches to be able to run in Paris as he doesn’t have the standard (13:05.00) nor a World Ranking in the top 42. When asked if he was aware of how it all works, he admitted he had “no idea.”
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. Coach said if I got to this spot and got in the top three, I can blame him if I don’t go. (So) I’ll be blaming him if I can’t. Now I think I couldn’t imagine a better finish and whether or not we have the right amount of points is up in the air. So we’ll figure it out,” said Wolfe who is coached by Chris Miltenberg, who also coached Grant Fisher in college.
Graham Blanks had a great attitude after finishing fourth and said he got a lot of confidence from the semis where he only sneaked into the final on time.
When asked about how he felt about 4th, Blanks said the following:
“I don’t know. I mean, it’s definitely a weird feeling. I’m a little sad because I gave up a little at the end there. It was right in my grasp, but Parker’s incredible right now. He’s in great form. He beat me fair and square. Not only that, he pulled me the entire way, so that was his thing.”
“And if the numbers are in his favor, he deserves to go. And if the numbers are in my favor, I still honestly think he deserves to go. But if they go in my favor, I’m going to take that spot. I think I can represent the United States really well. I’ll go out there and hurt for all of us. But whichever way it goes, I think we’ve got a really good number three going to Paris.”
Blanks also said coming back from his injury that he suffered at the beginning of the year was really tough and he only got his confidence back after making the final in Eugene. He said closing a 5000 prelim in 54 when he’d never closed faster than 56 really made him feel like he could do something as he considers himself to be a strength runner.
Abdihamud Nur was happy Grant Fisher took it so he didn’t have to
It was a disastrous Olympic Trials for Cooper Teare
Only three years ago, at the age of 21, Cooper Teare was 4th in the Trials in the 5000. This time, he was a total non-factor in both the 1500 (10th) and 5000 finals (12th).
“I just was hurting and kind of wanted to be over honestly. It’s one of those days, it sucks that it’s today. I know I’m better than that,” said Teare.
Talk about the race and the Trials on our world-famous messageboard / fan forum:
- Official Final Day Of The Trials Live Discussion Thread (Live Reaction Show at 9 pm ET)
- Grant MF Fisher – 3:59.97 Final 1600 FTW – 13:08!!
- Is Grant Fisher at a new level in 2024? Or do we just think he is because he won USAs twice?
- What happened in the men’s 5K?
- So does Parker Wolfe got to Paris?
- Cooper Teare= Time Trial Merchant
- Hocker in trials 5k- ouch
- BRYCE MF HOPPEL 1:42.77
More LRC Interviews can be found on our youtube channel. Did you catch out post-race live video show? See it below.
