Fisher Breaks 21-Year Old Kenenisa Bekele Record With 12:44.09 At BU

By David Woods for DyeStat

John Nepolitan file photo

When you are emulating Haile Gebrselassie or Henry Rono and doing things no American distance runner has ever done, you are . . . well, you are Grant Fisher.

For the second time inside seven days, Fisher ran to a world indoor record.

This time it was Friday night in Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational, where his time of 12:44.09 for 5,000 meters broke the mark of 12:49.60 set by Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele in 2004.

Not since Gebrselassie, also of Ethiopia, in 1997-98 had a runner held world indoor records at 3,000 and 5,000 simultaneously. Fisher’s spree is reminiscent of Kenya’s Henry Rono, who set four world records in 81 days in 1978.

Fisher, 27, a Stanford graduate from Grand Blanc, Mich., set the 5,000 record six days after he ran to a world indoor record of 7:22.91 for 3,000 meters at New York’s Millrose Games. He edged Olympic 1,500-meter gold medalist Cole Hocker by 0.23 seconds.

This was more of a solo run, considering Fisher was essentially alone for the final 11 laps. He reached 3,000 at 7:39.16 and ran the closing 400 in 59.36.

Jimmy Gressier of France kept up through 2,800 meters and finished second in 12:54.92, a European indoor record. Next was collegian Yaseen Abdulla of Arkansas in 13:09.99.

“U.S. distance running is now one of the hardest teams to make in the world, whereas before it was probably the Kenyan team and the Ethiopian team that were the hardest teams to make,” Fisher said afterward. “On the distance side, now the American team is almost as hard to make.

“If you want to make a team now, you’re probably thinking about medaling, too – and when everyone knows that, it makes you train harder.”

His time was also faster than his outdoor American record, 12:46.96, set in September 2022. Previous American indoor record was 12:51.61 by Woody Kincaid in 2023.

Fisher is coming off bronze medals at both 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Paris Olympics. He has said he won’t race in next month’s World Indoor Championships at Nanjing, China, instead pointing toward September’s worlds at Tokyo.

In data available back to the 1890s, there is no evidence an American distance runner ever set two world records so close together.

When world records were recognized at yard distances, Joie Ray of Kankakee, Ill., ran to two world indoor records in 1923 – 8:31.2 in the 2-mile on Feb. 10 and 14:54.6 in the 5,000 meters on March 7 (25 days apart). Two years later, Ray’s records were broken by Finland’s Paavo Nurmi. Ray twice lowered the world indoor record in the mile, to 4:14.6 in 1919 and 4:12.0 in 1925.

Matsatsa runs 800 in 1:45

In other men’s events:

>> 800 meters. In a race run well before noon, Tinoda Matsatsa became the fastest American collegian ever. The Georgetown sophomore clocked an NCAA-leading 1:45.21 – a time bettered by just two collegians, both Kenyans. Virginia’s Paul Ereng clocked 1:44.84 in 1984 and UTEP’s Michael Saruni 1:45.15 in 2018. Matsatsa, 20, became No. 4 on the all-time U.S. list. Cian Phillips, 22, of Ireland was second in 1:45.33.

>> 1,000 meters. Luciano Fiore climbed to No. 8 on the U.S. all-time indoor list with a facility record of 2:16.74. Fiore, 27, is a former high school basketball and soccer player from Long Island who had an undistinguished college career at Siena. Fiore represents the Atlanta Track Club. In second in 2:17.77 was Villanova freshman Dan Watcke, now No. 3 on the all-time collegiate list.

>> Mile. Princeton’s Harrison Witt saw the fast heat go first, then ran even faster. His time of 3:52.87 was a school record. Out of heat 1, Luke Houser was first in 3:53.19 and Ben Allen second in 3:53.37. Syracuse’s Benne Anderson clocked 3:54.12 in heat 2 and Oregon’s Thomas Palfrey 3:54.21 in heat 1.

>> 3,000 meters. Adams State’s Romaine Legendre smashed the NCAA Division 2 record, taking first in 7:36.28. The 25-year-old Frenchman moved to No. 9 on the all-time collegiate indoor list. India’s Gulveer Singh was second in 7:38.26, lowering a 17-year-old national indoor record by 11 seconds. Morgan Beadlescomb was third in 7:38.55. Colton Sands was fifth in 7:39.60, giving North Carolina three men this season under 7:40. The two others are Nos. 1-2 of all time, Ethan Strand (7:30.15) and Parker Wolfe (7:30.23).

Contact David Woods at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.