2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials Preview: Weekly Newsletter #26

Welcome back to the Kicking For Home Guide to the 2024 Paris Olympics. As I talked about in last week's newsletter, this year’s Olympic cycle began with the USATF XC National Championships. This weekend another Marathon Olympic Trials are set to be run in Orlando, Florida. However, unlike the XC National Championships, this race is primarily an Olympics qualifier, and secondarily a national championship. To qualify for this qualifying race, runners have to finish under 2:18 for men and 2:37 for women. Today I will discuss the top three athletes in the full marathon distances on both sides and I will discuss my thoughts on who could represent the U.S. in Paris. But, before that, I need to mention that if you place in the top three you aren't automatically guaranteed a spot in the Olympics. Down below is the link to the Olympic standards for all running events, and how you qualify.

The first race I will talk about is the Women's Marathon. The top three athletes I will discuss are Emily Sisson, Keira D'Amato, and Betsy Saina. The top qualifier heading into this race is Sisson. Sisson, who runs for New Balance, is the fastest in the U.S. at the moment. Her qualifying time of 2:18:29 is the American record at the Chicago Marathon in 2022, along with being the American record holder in the marathon she is also the half marathon record holder. The next person on this list is Keira D'Amato, D'Amato is a pro runner for Nike and she is the former American record holder in the marathon and the half marathon. This year she is the second-fastest qualifier, with her mark of 2:19:12, the former American record. The third and final woman I will talk about is Betsy Saina. Saina who was born in Eldoret, Kenya was a three-time NCAA Champion at Iowa State University and since then she has signed a pro contract with Asics. In her time as an Asics athlete, Saina has run a PR of 2:21:40 (her qualifying time) which puts her as the third-fastest qualifier and the eighth-fastest in American History. 

Next, I will talk about the top three men in this field. The first runner I will talk about is Conner Mantz of Nike. Mantz's name might seem familiar as he won a couple of NCAA titles in cross country, while at BYU. Since graduating Mantz has switched to the marathon and has had a great deal of success, such as running a new PR of 2:07:47, from the 2023 Chicago Marathon. This PR is also his qualifying mark, the fastest in the field. The next runner is one of Mantz's training partners under legendary BYU head coach Ed Eyestone, Clayton Young. This training group is very well represented as there are multiple members in this field. Young is also a former BYU runner, and since graduating he has joined Asics and has run a PR of 2:08 (his qualifying mark) at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. The last and most decorated runner on this list is Galen Rupp, with Nike. If his name doesn't ring any bells, he has won every single national championship race he has been in, across 15 years. He started as a track runner and while doing that he won eight 10000m national titles, and one 5000m title. He has since then switched to the marathon, and has won the last two Olympic Trials. His personal best is 2:06:07, but his qualifying mark for this race is 2:08:48. 

All of these athletes have had great seasons and are in this race for a reason. It will come down to the day for who will win the national title, book their ticket to the Olympics, and who will join them.