Niwot alumna E. Cranny ran the 5,000-meter finals at the Tokyo Olympics, where she placed eighth.
E. Cranny Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
On Monday, the brilliant American distance runner placed 13th at night in the city dubbed the “Electric Town,” however the atmosphere was much different without the usual 50,000 spectators. This was owing to the country’s pandemic limitations.
At the beginning of the 15-runner race, E. Cranny took the lead before settling into a position near the end of the field. However, she made a late charge in the closing laps, much like she did in the qualifying session on Friday.
And it appeared for a little second that E. Cranny, with her final burst, would finish in eleventh place. Despite a final effort, she was unable to pass the tandem of Karissa Schweizer, also of the United States, and Lilian Kasait Rengeruk, of Kenya.
In 14 Minutes And 55.98 Seconds, E. Cranny was Done.
This culminated a remarkable few weeks for the 25-year-old Stanford alum and current Bowerman Track Club star.
It was a hot day in June in Eugene, Oregon, and E. Cranny won the U.S. Olympic Trials to qualify for her first Olympics.
On Friday, she qualified for the finals with her usual late kick and finished in 14 minutes, 56.14 seconds.
According to the NBC broadcast, Dutch athlete Sifan Hassan won gold after racing past a field that included five of the ten fastest runners in the history of the race. The 28-year-old Dutchman started the race in sixth place, but he moved up to first in the last lap and then won by a comfortable margin.
Simply Label it as the Day’s Underlying Theme for her.
Hassan had earlier fallen on the final lap of the 1,500-meter qualifying race but had come back well to win her heat. Later that night, during the 5,000-meter finals, she broke away from the pack with a lap to go, and went on to win by less than two seconds.
Hellen Obiri of Kenya finished second in the 5,000 metres behind her with a time of 14 minutes, 38 seconds, and 36 seconds. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay won bronze (14:38.87).
Even though the race started at 6:40 a.m., all eyes were still on Cranny back in Colorado.
Cranny rose to prominence on the local scene after claiming back-to-back Class 4A cross country titles in 2012 and 2013. She used her signature kick to come from behind and beat out former Air Academy standout Katie Rainsberger in the 2012 race, and she cruised to victory by a wide margin the following year.
In addition to becoming the third-fastest high school girl ever in the 1,500-meter run (4:10.95), she also won six individual track titles while ranking fifth-fastest in the indoor mile (4:40.62).
She was a four-time runner-up at the NCAA track and field championships and a 12-time All-American at Stanford.
Last Words
Cranny will have another opportunity to compete in the Olympics at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. Thanks for reading our Article E. Cranny Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
