SAINT-DENIS, France — When it comes to the longest distance race at the Olympics, the American men have mostly faded from view over the last decade or so.
In a literal photo finish Friday night at Stade de France just outside of Paris, Fisher finished finished the men’s 10,000 meters in 26:43.46 to claim the bronze medal, as Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi leaned past him at the line to clock a 26:43.44. Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei won gold in 26:43.14, shattering the previous Olympic record of 27:01.17.
“These races always come down to the last lap, specifically the last 100,” Fisher said. “That last 100 you can see your goal in front of you.
“I’ve been close to the medals before. But I haven’t gotten one until today.”
From the gun, it was clear the pace had the potential to be record-setting. That worked to Fisher’s advantage, as he improved on his season-best time by more than 8 seconds to claim a medal. It was the first medal in the 10,000 meters for Team USA since Galen Rupp won silver at the 2012 London Olympics.
Americans Nico Young (26:58.11) and William Kincaid (27:29.40) finished 12th and 16th, respectively.
“The narrative when I was a kid was, ‘You just can’t run with East Africans, you can’t run with the Europeans.’ I hope I showed I’m capable of that,” Fisher said, adding that after his first Olympics, in Tokyo, he started to understand he belonged on the world stage. “I hope people see as my mindset shifts, America’s can as well.”
