US Olympic track and field trials: REP signee Grant Fisher leads Utah's Paris pack with double

SALT LAKE CITY — Grant Fisher had already booked his ticket to Paris when he opened the U.S. Olympic trials with a win in the 10,000-meter final.

But why not add a second?

The three-time American record holder who trains in Park City and runs with Run Elite Program finished first in the 5,000-meter final 13 minutes, 8.85 seconds Sunday to clinch his distance double at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Fisher pulled ahead of Nike's Abdihamid Nur and North Carolina's Parker Wolfe, the three-time All-American, at the bell lap.

Nur inched ahead of him midway through the final lap, but Fisher pulled back in front at the final turn to set up the wild finish.

In a race of 5,000 meters, though, the finale came down to one last sprint — and Fisher did just enough to hold off the challenge of Nur, who finished in 13:09.01 to also clinch his spot on Team USA in the event.

Fisher went back home to Park City between the two events, he told Citius Magazine — which may have helped his final performance.

"It's just nice to reset, to go home and treat it like two different meets. When I was back in Park City, it was nice and tranquil and I liked it," he said after the 10,000-meter prelims. "Most of the reason I went back up is because sometimes when you sit in the same routine for several days, it becomes a bit of a circus. It's nice to be back in Park City, and it's a direct flight to Eugene, so it didn't take that long to get back home."

Fisher, a former Stanford star who grew up in Michigan, turned pro in 2019 and signed with the prestigious Nike-sponsored Bowerman Track Club in 2019.

But after a series of injuries, Fisher announced last October that he was leaving the club after four years and moved to Park City, where he began training with his former high school coach, Mike Scannell.

"I wasn't the happiest athlete over the past year," Fisher told LetsRun.com of the decision, "and I think that reflected itself quite a bit in my training and my racing and getting injured in the middle of the year."

Fisher, who has visited Utah several times for races and other events, eventually struck up a friendship with several athletes and officials at Run Elite Program, the state-sponsored professional running outfitted funded partially by a $166,400 economic development grant approved by the Utah state legislator.

On the eve of the trials, Fisher was announced as one of five new additions to REP, a group that also included former BYU steeplechase standout (and fellow 2024 Paris Olympian) Kenneth Rooks, former Olympic and world silver medalist Courtney Frerichs, and former University of Utah five-time All-American Emily Venters. The group joined a roster that included five original members in Olympic marathoners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young; former Central Utah high school stars and BYU standouts Anna Camp Bennett and Whittni Orton Morgan; and former Olympic marathoner Jared Ward, a co-founder along with Salt Lake Community College coach Isaac Wood and former BYU-Hawaii men's soccer player Landon Southwick.

"We have no shortage of amazing athletes in this state, athletes that want to do good in our communities and bless our youth," Ward said. "Run Elite Program was created to support pros — yet what we are seeing is pros inspiring and supporting health and wellness in Utah."

BYU alum Abraham Alvarado finished eighth in the 800-meter final, finishing in 1:44.90. Bryce Hoppel set an Olympic trials with his first-place finish of 1:42.77, with Hobbs Kessler (1:43.64) and Brandon Miller (1:43.97) rounding out the podium.

In addition to Fisher, six more athletes from the state of Utah qualified for the Paris Summer Games for Team USA track and field (and one additional, last-gasp race for an Olympic standard, in the case of BYU rising junior James Corrigan).

Add to it Rory Linkletter, the 2018 BYU graduate who prepped at Herriman High that will represent his native Canada in the marathon, and the six BYU qualifiers is tied for the second-most Olympians from the university in a single year and the most from the school since 1992.

"To have multiple Olympians come out of the U.S. track and field Olympic trials is a statement of where our program is right now," BYU coach Ed Eyestone said. "Since coming here in the year 2000, we've put athletes Olympic teams. However, to have a windfall of athletes this year is amazing. It all started with our marathoners earlier this year and then Courtney Wayment ran an inspiring race of her own. Then Kenneth and James finished first and third; that was truly special. Then to have James come back and hit the Olympic standard was just unreal. BYU track and field is doing great things right now."

Here are the U.S. qualifiers through the trials:

• Grant Fisher, 5000M/10000M, Nike/Run Elite
• Kenneth Rooks, 3000M steeplechase, BYU/Nike/Run Elite
• James Corrigan, 3000M steeplechase, BYU
• Courtney Wayment, 3000M steeplechase, Davis HS/BYU/On
• Chari Hawkins, heptathlon, Utah State/Brooks
• Conner Mantz, marathon, Sky View HS/BYU/Nike/Run Elite
• Clayton Young, marathon, American Fork HS/BYU/Asics/Run Elite

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