It’s the first American medal in the 10K since Galen Rupp in 2012.
By Taylor Dutch
Published: Aug 02, 2024 4:34 PM EDT
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The first track and field final of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games lived up to the hype.
On Friday night, Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda claimed gold in the men’s 10,000 meters, winning the 25-lap race in 26:43.14, an Olympic record. In a late surge, Beriju Aregawi of Ethiopia earned the silver medal in 26:43.44. American Grant Fisher snagged bronze in 26:43.46, a season’s best, at the Stade de France.
The three-time world champion timed his kick perfectly to earn Olympic gold in what could be his final track race. With 600 meters to go, Cheptegei surged to the front and never looked back. Blazing about 54.6 seconds on the last lap, the 27-year-old was comfortably ahead while a pack of pre race favorites battled for podium positions through the homestretch.
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Aregawi, who was fourth in the event at the Tokyo Games three years ago, swung into the outside lanes to nip Fisher for second at the line. Splitting about 54.70 seconds for the last lap, Fisher ran strong to become just the second American man, next to Galen Rupp’s silver in 2012, to medal in the event since 1964. Mo Ahmed of Canada finished fourth in 26:43.79.
With temperatures in the mid-70s in Paris, the conditions were well-suited for a nailbiter race from start to finish.
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Just as the runners began to settle into an early pace, Tokyo Olympic champion Selemon Barega surged ahead two laps in, a sudden move that jolted the field. The shift in gears spread out the runners and prompted his Ethiopian countrymen Yomif Kejelcha and Aregawi to move up. Kejelcha brought the field through the first mile in about 4:17, on pace for a 26:37 finish.
In an impressive team effort, the Ethiopians continued to lead a metronomic rhythm, running between 64 and 65 seconds for each lap. Fisher remained just behind the trio through the first half.
By the time the pack hit halfway in 13:23, Barega had fallen back while Aregawi and Kejelcha continued to grind up front.
One by one, runners started to fall off the leaders’ steady pace after the first 5,000 meters. By 6,000 meters, a front pack emerged with two Americans, Fisher and Nico Young, in contention. Despite a few stumbles at different points in the race, Fisher was able to remain on his feet.
With a mile to go, the race started to heat up. Aregawi initiated a faster tempo with three laps remaining as runners jockeyed for position to close it out. With 600 meters left, Cheptegei started his lethal kick.
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The world record-holder ran away with the title in the fastest performance ever at the Games. Earlier this year, Cheptegei announced Paris could be the last time he competes on the track. He plans to shift his focus to the marathon, according to the Observer.
Ahead of the race, Fisher was open about his goals in Paris. The U.S. record-holder wanted to claim his first Olympic medal.
In the last year, the 27-year-old has made key changes to his training setup to ensure a breakthrough in his second appearance at the Olympics. After seeing much success, including a fifth-place finish at the Tokyo Games in 2020, Fisher decided to leave the Bowerman Track Club last fall. Following an injury as a result of overtraining, Fisher told Runner’s World he wanted to give himself the best shot he can at winning a medal, and the injury layoff was clarifying.
The Stanford graduate moved to Park City, Utah, and started training again with his high school coach, Mike Scannell. Together, they devised a three-phase training plan that started in October 2023 and built up to Paris. The schedule laid out every hard workout for more than 10 months. Fisher saw solid success through each phase, including victories in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials, races that helped validate the shift in his approach.
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“The result today, I think, is a culmination of setting up this great system around myself,” Fisher said after the Trials 10,000 in Eugene, Oregon. “I don’t think I would have been ready to branch out on my own like this when I first came out of college.”
Fisher wasn’t the only American with a standout performance in Paris. In his first Olympic Games, Young ran with the lead pack for most of the race and earned a 12th-place finish. Woody Kincaid finished 16th in his second Olympics.