Elise Cranny

Elise Cranny (born May 9, 1996) is an American middle and long-distance runner. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is a four-time national champion and holds the American record in the indoor 5000 metres.

High school

Cranny attended Niwot High School in Colorado, where she won two cross country state championships, as well as two state track titles in the 800, 1600, and 3200. Cranny competed at the 2014 World Junior Championships and finished fourth in the 1500 m.

College

Cranny attended Stanford University and competed for the Cardinal from 2014 to 2018. At the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, she won the silver medal in the 3000 m. At the 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, she won the silver medal in the 1500 m. At the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships, she finished fifth in the mile. At the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, she won the bronze medal in the 1500 m.

Professional

After graduating from college in 2018, Cranny turned professional with the Bowerman Track Club. At a Bowerman inter-squad meet on July 31, 2020, she competed as a member of the 4 × 1500 m relay team alongside Colleen Quigley, Karissa Schweizer, and Shelby Houlihan. The team ran a time of 16:27.02, which broke the previous world record of 16:33.58 from Kenya.

2021

Cranny competed at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials, and she won the gold medal in the 5000 m to qualify for the Olympic team. Running in 94 degree heat, Cranny won the race with a time of 15:27.81, 0.3 seconds ahead of Bowerman teammate Karissa Schweizer. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Cranny finished 13th in the 5000 m.

2022

In February, Cranny broke the American indoor record in the 5000 m at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University. She had a time of 14:33.17, which was 14 seconds faster than Shalane Flanagan's mark of 14:47.

Cranny competed at the 2022 USA Outdoor Championships and won the gold medal in the 5000 m. At the 2022 World Championships, she finished ninth in the 5000 m.

2023

At the 2023 USA Outdoor Championships, Cranny won gold medals in the 5000 m and 10000 m. She then competed at the 2023 World Championships, where she finished ninth in the 5000 m and 12th in the 10000 m. After the 2023 season, Cranny left the Bowerman Track Club and returned to Boulder, Colorado to join Team Boss under coach Joe Bosshard.

2024

After only a few months with Team Boss, Cranny left the team at the end of February to be coached by Northern Arizona University associate head coach Jarred Cornfield. She then competed in the 2024 US Olympic Trials, placing second in the 5000m. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, she placed 11th in the 5000m.

In November 2024, it was announced that she had signed up for the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson founded Grand Slam Track.