"I wanted to beat everybody"- U.S. 10,000m trials champion Grant Fisher reflects on his approach for the finals of U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials

Former Stanford Cardinal athlete Grant Fisher recently punched his ticket for the Paris Olympics in the Men's 10,000m event. This came during the first day of the ongoing US Olympic Track and Field Trials.

It was just the second 10,000m race for Fisher in this 2024 season after The Ten in March. His run time during the trials (27:49.47) in Hayward Field was nowhere close to the season best he set at The Ten (26:52.04) but it was enough to make him the first American athlete to qualify for the quadrennial event scheduled next month.

In a recent interview after the conclusion of the Men's 10,000m finals, Fisher elaborated on the hunger that inspired him to put in that extra effort during the trials. He stated (via Flotrack):

"We targeted this race not as a qualifier, but I wanted to win. And I wanted do it dominantly. And I wanted to beat everybody. And I wanted to show myself that I’m still the best guy in the country and I’m ready to compete internationally. So definitely validation."

He also elaborated on the disappointment he faced after failing to qualify for last year's World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

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Grant Fisher opens up about competing with the top athletes

Grant Fisher at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon (Photo: Getty Images)

Grant Fisher, 27, opened up about competing with some of the most prominent long-distance runners in the competitive tournaments. With a special mention to the World 10,000m world record holder, Joshua Cheptegei, Fisher explained the narratives that exist about competing with African athletes in the long-distance circuit.

Fisher said (via LA Times):

"I remember lining up next to Joshua Cheptegei and he had just broken the world records in the 5K and the 10K. 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?"

He added:

"When I was growing up, the narrative was you can’t run with the East Africans. I’ve been close. Some work to be done, of course. And yeah, people are closing it down."

With Fisher qualifying for the Paris Olympics on Friday (June 21), he can expect to face Cheptegei at the global event scheduled to begin in July. He will also be one of the major candidates for the USA to win a distance event in Paris since 1964.