"I really like his approach" - U.S. national record holder Grant Fisher reunites with high school coach for 2024 season
American middle and long-distance runner Grant Fisher has teamed up with his former high school coach, Mike Scannell, for the upcoming 2024 season. As part of the partnership, Fisher has relocated to Park City, Utah.
He took this decision after the end of his 2023 track season. Fisher last appeared at the Wanda Diamond League Final 2023 (Prefontaine Classic 2023), where he finished third in the men’s 3000m event, setting a new American record, and a personal best.
On the LetsRun podcast, he stated:
“After the 2023 track season, I finished that up at Pre Classic – so that was mid-September or so. For a little bit after that, I was trying to figure out what I was going to do. Ultimately, I decided to make a change. I moved out to Park City, Utah…I’m working with my old high school coach Mike Scannell.”
He also spoke about what motivated him to initiate the change, as he further stated:
“I have a really good relationship with him and going back to before I was even running when I was a kid. We have a great relationship. I really like his approach to coaching.”
Earlier in October 2023, Fisher announced his departure from Bowerman Track Club, after four years, through a social media post. Sharing the same on his Instagram account, he stated that his time with the BTC was “transformative”, although he couldn’t envisage his future with them.
Grant Fisher, who turned professional in 2019, is known for holding the American records in the men’s 5000m and 10,000m outdoors in the year 2022, clocking timings of 12:46.96 and 12:46.96, respectively.
Besides this, he narrowly missed out on winning medals at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and World Championships 2022, as he finished fifth (27:46.39), and fourth (27:28.14), respectively, in the men’s 10000m.
Grant Fisher involved himself in cross-training during injury recovery
To qualify for the 2023 World Championships, Grant Fisher had to finish in the top three at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. However, in the men’s 10000m, despite having a lead initially, he lost the momentum in the final lap, finishing fourth.
Post the race, a stress injury was detected in his femur after he went through Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This resulted in him skipping the 5000m event and it also ruled him out of the 2023 World Championships.
While recovering from injury, the Stanford University alumnus involved himself in cross-training, a training different from the athlete’s usual sport, for about two and a half hours every day. Besides this, he also did aqua jogging, cycling, and elliptical workouts, which he revealed in an interview with Runner’s World.