Sports
Grant Fisher could help U.S. end its distance race drought at Paris Games
When Grant Fisher stepped to the starting line for the 10,000-meter final at the Tokyo Olympics, he knew he had to cover a lot more than 10 kilometers to get to the front of the field.
“I remember lining up next to Joshua Cheptegei and he had just broken the world records in the 5K and the 10K,” Fisher said. “He just run 26:11. I had just run 27:11.
“And I was like, ‘Man, how am I even going to get close to this guy?’”
A little more than two months before the start of the Paris Olympics, that gap has closed considerably. Fisher has run 26:33.84 and has the best time in the world at 10,000 meters since Cheptegai, a Ugandan, set his record in 2020. That makes Fisher one of the favorites to strike gold in this summer’s Games, something no U.S. distance runner has done in four decades.
“When I was growing up, the narrative was you can’t run with the East Africans,” said Fisher, 27. “I’ve been close. Some work to be done, of course. And yeah, people are closing it down.”
Joan Benoit, who won the women’s marathon in 1984, was the last American to climb to the top of the medal podium in a race longer than 1,500 meters. Frank Shorter was the last U.S. male to do that, winning the marathon in 1972. No American has won a distance race on the track since 1964, when Billy Mills upset a loaded field to win the 10,000.
“I like that we’re even having this conversion,” said Mike Scannell, Fisher’s coach. “That means maybe we are entering the stage where we’re in the conversation for a podium slot in Paris. My initial read on that is yes, things are going extremely well for not just Grant, but for all Americans.”
The long road to this spot began in 2001, when former UCLA coach Bob Larsen and Joe Vigil, who coached distance runners for the U.S. Olympic team, began training their athletes in the 7,900-foot altitude of Mammoth Lakes. Three years later Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor became the first American distance runners to step on an Olympic medal stand in 20 years, with Keflezighi winning silver in the men’s marathon and Kastor bronze in the women’s race.
No other country won two medals in the marathon that summer, and in the four Olympics that followed Athens, Americans won nine Olympic medals in the distance events. Now, all of the top U.S. distance runners live and run at altitude, with most congregated in Flagstaff, Ariz., Park City, Utah, or Boulder, Colo.
“We did some things that got everybody’s attention,” said Larsen, a member of the national track and field Hall of Fame. “Everybody had kind of given up that they were going to be able to catch [the Africans].”
Since Chris Solinsky became the first American — and first non-African — to break 27 minutes at 10,000 meters in 2010, five U.S. men have done so. Yet if the Americans have caught the Africans, they haven’t passed them because they haven’t won a distance event in the last nine Olympics. And doing that will involve more than just running fast, since tactics and luck are just as important.
“One guy gets to win gold every four years. So it’s a lofty goal,” said Fisher, who trains in Park City, Utah. “Winning gold’s tough. And it’s not just East Africans you have to worry about.”
Cheptegei agrees. Despite holding the world record in two events, the Ugandan has won just once in four Olympic finals.
“Everybody who qualifies for the Olympic Games, you really have to respect them,” he said. “It’s not really a simple task.”
Gold medalist Joshua Cheptegei, center, is flanked by silver medalist Mohammed Ahmed of Canada and bronze medalist Paul Chelimo of the U.S. after the 5,000-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics.
(Dylan Martinez / Associated Press)
That’s because most Olympic finals are more tactical than fast, one reason why Cheptegei’s world record is nearly a minute better than the Olympic record. And while the Americans have learned to run fast over the long distances, they’re still learning to run smart.
In the 5,000 meters at Friday’s Los Angeles Grand Prix at UCLA, for example, Fisher couldn’t match a blistering 54-second final lap from Ethiopia’s Selemon Barega, finishing behind four Africans in 12:53.30. It was the sixth-fastest time in the world this year but only the fifth fastest at UCLA that evening.
“I gave myself too much ground to make up in the last 200,” said Fisher, who ran just behind the leaders for much of the race. “Great time [but] I wish I was a little more competitive with those top four guys. I can’t give them that space on the backstretch. Close that down and I think I’ll have a better chance.”
And he does have a chance, which isn’t something that’s often been said about American distance runners entering the Olympics. The competition has become so fierce, Fisher said he’s not even thinking about Paris since he first has to get through next month’s U.S. trials in Eugene, Ore., where the field is likely to feature six of the fastest 14 10,000-meter runners in the world this year.
“Nothing’s guaranteed. It’s a very hard team to make,” he said. “You can’t be focused on the Olympics because you’re getting ahead of yourself at that point. You know how it is it’s an Olympic year. Everyone’s focus is the Games.
“But you can’t overlook USA.”
Regardless of what happens in Eugene or Paris, that counts as progress.
“This sport is rich,” Barega said. “Sometimes one athlete wins, sometimes another athlete wins. Other athletes in America are coming. Not [just] Fisher. Many athletes in America. It’s good.”
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The alleged mistress of former Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore received a massive pay bump between 2024 and 2025.
The individual allegedly linked to Moore, whose LinkedIn profile lists her as an Executive Assistant to the Head Football Coach at the University of Michigan, earned just over $58,000 in 2023 and 2024, according to public payroll information. In the 2025 fiscal year, though, her salary jumped to $99,000, according to a salary disclosure report from the University of Michigan.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore leaves the field following the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Nov. 29, 2025. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)
That’s a 70.62 percent increase year-over-year — even higher than the figure circulating social media right now via UMSalary.info.
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As OutKick’s Trey Wallace reported, Moore was fired with cause on Wednesday in his second season as the Wolverines’ head coach. The move came after an investigation surrounding Moore’s alleged “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer.
And it’s hard to imagine the massive salary bump she received didn’t raise some eyebrows within the department.
“U-M head football coach Sherrone Moore has been terminated, with cause, effective immediately,” Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manual announced on Wednesday. “Following a university investigation, credible evidence was found that Coach Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member. This conduct constitutes a clear violation of University policy, and U-M maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore reacts from the sideline during a college football game against the USC Trojans at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 21, 2024 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
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Less than an hour after his termination, police were called to a residence to detain the former coach under possible assault charges. Moore allegedly threatened to harm himself and others before being taken into custody.
As of Thursday afternoon, Moore is being held at Washtenaw County Jail. No charges have been filed yet, but he is expected to appear in court on Friday to be arraigned, according to Pittsfield Township police department.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore is shown on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium in College Park, Maryland, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Tommy Gilligan/Imagn Images)
OutKick reached out to the University of Michigan and its athletic department regarding the staffer’s 70 percent pay raise, but they didn’t immediately respond.
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When seven distance runners from Anaheim High waiting to cross a street near campus were struck by a car on Wednesday driven by a suspected drunk driver, it once again brought into focus the dangers coaches and athletes must deal with while training on the streets of Southern California.
For Hernan Herrera, the incident brought back memories to his senior year at Monroe High as a member of the cross-country team in 2009. He was struck by a car in North Hills that ran a red light. He said he was hospitalized for weeks with knee and pelvic injuries that required surgery and left him sidelined for months.
Herrera was 17. Now he’s the dean of students and wrestling coach at Monroe. He doesn’t see changing the practice routine used by most high schools running in the neighborhood to fulfill weekly requirements of 45 to 60 miles of training to prepare for competitions.
“Everyone understands accidents happen and there’s no one to blame other than the person behind the wheel,” Herrera said.
Yes, schools could transport students to quieter streets or hilly areas with running trails, but that would lead to additional costs and there are many schools far away from such areas.
Coaches have been assigning adults to supervise street workouts for years. Monroe coach Leo Hernandez said he got his position in 1999 because he could run with his athletes to keep watch over them.
Maybe there needs to be additional meetings and reminders for those running on sidewalks or crossing streets to be cautious and to reinforce following traffic rules while being on the lookout for distracted drivers.
Herrera said athletes must get in their workouts beyond running around the school track to be able to compete well in cross-country or distance races in track and field.
“I don’t think there’s anything to do to mitigate the situation,” he said.
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The Sherrone Moore scandal that sparked a frenzy in college football on Wednesday led to questions about what Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood will do with the opening of the transfer portal looming.
Underwood had a solid freshman season as the Wolverines’ quarterback. He threw for 2,229 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 323 yards and five touchdowns. Michigan finished 9-3 and were set to play the Texas Longhorns in the upcoming Citrus Bowl.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore leads the team off the field after warm-ups before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium on Nov. 22, 2025 in College Park, Maryland. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
Moore was dismissed from the program as athletic director Warde Manuel said he engaged in an “inappropriate relationship” with a staffer. The former coach was then jailed amid an “assault investigation” in Pittsfield, Michigan, police said.
With chaos occurring in and around Ann Arbor, former LSU Tigers star defensive back Tyrann Mathieu wrote on social media that Underwood should consider transferring to his alma mater in the Bayou.
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Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) passes against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium on Nov. 29, 2025. (Rick Osentoski/Imagn Images)
“Come home son @BryceUnderwood,” Mathieu wrote. “We are waiting & will accept you with open arms. FOREVER LSU.”
Underwood initially chose to commit to LSU before he flipped to play under Moore. The former head coach touted Underwood’s commitment at the time as “the best players in Michigan go to Michigan.”
It’s unclear what Underwood will do.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) walks off the field after 24-7 win over Washington at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Junfu Han/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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He was born in Detroit and played high school football in Michigan. He was a two-time Michigan High School Player of the Year.
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