GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan native Grant Fisher is headed to Tokyo.
He qualified late last week during the Olympic trials in Oregon as one of the top three finishers in the 10,000 meters with a time of 27 minutes, 54.29 seconds. He’s also aiming to compete in the 5,000 meters, where he’ll be one to beat.
“Every little kid that’s in elementary school or middle school, a lot of them want to grow up and be professional athletes, so it’s cool to be living the dream right now,” Fisher said. “In track and field, the biggest event is the Olympics, so it’s a big opportunity for me. It was a bummer that the Olympics were postponed from last year, but I feel a bit more prepared, a little bit older, a little bit stronger.”
As a high school student in Grand Blanc, Fisher was a state champion, was among only seven prep runners to break the 4-minute mile mark and was twice a Gatorade cross-country runner of the year. He went on to win an NCAA championship at Stanford.
“I’ve always had good support systems around me. I’ve always had great coaches, great training partners,” Fisher, now 24, said. “Even though … when you get on the track, you’re the only one that can run the race, there are a lot of people involved that kind of set you up to do your best.”
Hear more from Fisher above.
The first round of the men’s 5,000 is Thursday evening. The final is Sunday.