#61 Michtrack at the Olympics - Fisher Again!

Inside This Issue

• Fisher Wins Another Medal

• Stark Takes 5th in Hurdles

• Amene Says Goodbye

• Sember Talks About Her Olympics

• Signing Off

Fisher Wins Another Medal!

In one of the most fascinating 5000s I’ve ever seen, Grand Blanc alum Grant Fisher won his second bronze medal of the Games. It was a dramatically slow race from the start, with a 4:30 first 1600, and it would prove the ultimate test of Fisher’s tactical skills. (You “honest pace” nuts deserve your pain.)

He stuck to his usual plan, staying near the front throughout and waiting to see who would make the first big move. At this level, making the first big move is usually a death wish, but someone’s gotta do it. Finally, with 3 laps to go, things started to amp up. Fisher, who had been riding the rail, found himself badly boxed at this stage and it wasn’t looking good. Then the Ethiopians at the front started really sprinting. Fisher, with a clear lane ahead, couldn’t match the move, and folks started passing him.

It looked over for Fisher, as he fell back to 9th place and far out of medal contention. Little did we realize he was just getting started. With 300 to go, he started sprinting. Soon he was 7th, then 6th. But none of the top contenders ran the final 100 faster than Fisher. He passed Ethiopians Biniam Mehary and Hagos Gebrhiwet, then he nabbed Dominic Lobalu from the Refugee Team just before the line.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen took the win in 13:13.66; silver went to Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi in 13:15.04. And just 0.09 back in 13:15.13, Fisher took bronze. Quick guesstimate since I need to review the video to be sure, but he finally broke his high school mile PR! I estimate he ran his last 1600 in 3:54.9, so 3:56.3 for the mile. (I will probably adjust this slightly after the video review). His last 200 was 26.4, his last 300 39.8, last 400 53.5 (I think the fastest of anyone).

Stat geek in me says while it’s unlikely Fisher will get into a mile race in the late season in Europe, he is surely in sub-3:50 shape now, if not faster.

Fisher’s Post-Race Comments

“Excitement. After the first medal, it was a bit of a relief. This one, I had nothing to lose. It feels really good. I’ve been dreaming about a medal for so long. Sometimes it comes slowly, and then all at once. This Olympics, it came all at once. It’s really challenging to do that double. My legs are completely toast now, but it feels really really good.”

On how he recovered after the 10,000m: 

“In between the 10k (10,000m) and the 5000m, just take care of my body, relax, treat it like two different needs. The 10k was over, a very muted celebration. All eyes on getting to the race for the 5000m. Those guys took off with like 600m to go. I just didn’t have the legs. My coach told me before to just be patient, it’ll open up - and it did. With 100m to go, I just gave it everything I had until the line.”

On coming close to medals before Paris 2024: 

“It’s small margins at this level. I made a big change a year ago. Switched training group, switched where I live. Two medals, that’s as good as it gets. To get to the podium for the first time, then again a few days later, I’m still in disbelief.”

On how he will celebrate: 

“The US team has had a great meet. I might be going out, spend some time with my family. I’m the one running out there, but there’s a big team behind me. My coach has done an incredible job guiding me, my family… I’m sure it’ll hit me at some point, I’ll get emotional, but right now, I’m just happy.” 

Stark Takes 5th In 100 Hurdles!

It was one of those races that was impossible to predict. Before the gun, my coworker turned to me and said, “I don’t have the slightest idea who might win.” That’s because any of the 8 women lined up had the credentials to take the victory.

But credentials don’t win; technique and speed do. In lane 3, Grace Stark didn’t get her best start but several hurdles in she was deeply in the mix. From our vantage, we couldn’t guess who grabbed the medals, it was so close. Then the results came up: the gold went to Masai Russell. Stark, the second American, would be 5th in 12.43.

While she surely hoped for a medal and is probably disappointed, this is no loss. 5th in the Olympics means 5th on the planet. She will likely make the top 10 World Ranking that my magazine publishes. Her shoe company will give her a nice bonus for that. This finish also opens doors on the circuit and Stark will be able to throw herself at the sport as a professional. As the second-youngest woman in the field, she has an amazing future ahead of her. And we’re here for it.

Amene Says Goodbye

After his run in the 4 × 400 heats yesterday, Dubem Amene announced that he is moving on from the world of track & field. He told his teammates after his final race that he is done. He recently graduated from Michigan with an economics degree and has a finance job lined up.

The Nigerian team was disqualified for the finals because of a lane infringement by the first leg—long before Amene got the stick.

Sember Talks About Her Olympics

“Hitting a hurdle and not finishing the race you've been training for all year is probably one of the toughest things I've dealt with in sport.

“No one trains for multiple years for something like this to happen. In a split second, everything you've worked so hard for is just over. No do over. Just done.

“However, I know I can keep my head up knowing I've literally done everything I could to put myself in the mix. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and I was ready for something special. Everything was coming together, but unfortunately that's life. God's plan is bigger and I will never forget that. He is worthy of all my praise no matter the trial.

“Thank you guys so much for all your support ❤️ it truly means the world knowing how many people have been here supporting throughout the journey. I'm physically okay, just a few bruises and a bit of whiplash. It's just going to take some time to get over this one.

“Much love 💞”

Signing Off

Whenever you do anything for 10 days straight , it starts to feel as if it’s a part of your lifestyle. For me each day has been a crowded 30min subway ride, then a walk of nearly a mile, two security screenings on the way, then the quest for a seat (no reserved seats this time around; most journalists have to scramble to find something in the media section, which means getting there about 90 minutes early or you’re out of luck). Then several hours of mind-blowing track. March back to the subway, get to our neighborhood in the Latin Quarter after most restaurants have closed, scramble for food, then it’s sleep/write/sleep/write and repeat till the next day’s trip.

There is always this moment after the last event on the last day where it hits me that it’s over. No more medals, no more records. It’s an odd feeling, an emptiness. After a meet where the hits just keep coming one after another, it’s a weird trudge back to the hotel, realizing I may never see the Stade de France again.

There will still be plenty of work this week, if I survive my 18hr travel day via Iceland. I’ll have four new stories to write after today’s events alone. It’s all good. But no newsletter for a while, though I still need to catch up with the Junior Olympics, and keep an eye on Pioneer’s Rachel Forsyth and Maya Rollins, both of whom are expected to compete in the World Juniors at the end of the month.

Long-winded way of saying thanks for your support, and I’ll be in touch when I catch my breath.

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