NHS alum and Olympian Elise Cranny's family bracing for week ahead

Niwot High School alum Elise Cranny will take the world's center stage on July 30 at 4 a.m. MST when she competes for Olympic gold in the women's track and field 5,000 meter event.

Cranny, who graduated from Niwot in 2014 with multiple Colorado state titles in cross country and track before running at Stanford University, won the Team USA 5,000m qualifying race in June with a time of 15:27.81. Her family watched from the sidelines at Hayward Field in Oregon as Cranny punched her ticket to Tokyo.

"We were beside ourselves just crying and screaming," said her mother, Sandy Cranny, who attended with her husband, Bob, and daughters Emily and Lauren, among other friends.

The Cranny family is quite familiar with athletic success as Sandy and Bob have competed in a combined 18 Ironman triathlons and now own Altitude Physical Fitness. Emily and Lauren, who graduated from Niwot in 2016 and 2020, respectively, followed Elise's legacy and ran track and cross country at Niwot as well. Sandy labeled the younger sisters as Elise's "biggest cheerleaders."

Elise's preparation heightened when she spent a week training with the team in Hawaii before arriving in Tokyo on July 26. Sandy said her contact with Elise has been limited but they did recently connect for a FaceTime call.

Soon after the news spread that Elise would be running in Tokyo, Sandy Cranny said her family was bombarded with messages of support from friends in Niwot and across the country. She also said a few local friends surprised them with balloons, sparklers and a poster when the family came back from Oregon.

In addition to friends, Sandy mentioned former Niwot assistant track coach Jason Hartmann in particular for helping "plant the seed" for Elise's competitive drive.

"We, as a family, and she is just so appreciative of the support because you never expect it. But wow, you really feel like you couldn't do it without that," Sandy said. "We've loved the Niwot community anyway and especially at this time, it's so cool to be part of a small community."

Elise's fanbase will gather once more to watch her opening race before the sun rises on July 30. Niwot Wheel Works' owner Eric Bergeson and his family will open up the shop for a watch party. Anyone is welcome and breakfast burritos, juice and coffee from the Niwot Market is expected.