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2024 USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon Preview
By John Elliot
Why does the USA hold an Olympic Trials Marathon?
World Athletics (previously known as International Amateur Athletics Federation) sets standards and rules for minimum standards and for how many runners may participate in the Olympics and at the Olympic Marathon. But the method each country uses to select their team members - from the universe of their qualifying runners - is left to the individual countries and their athletic governing bodies.
In most countries, the team is selected by the athletics governing body of those countries. But in countries where there are many eligible athletes and the selection is made by committe, those selections are often criticized as being political and unfair. To overcome that perception of bias just two countries, the USA and Japan, utilize a single "Trials" race to choose their teams. In the "Trials" method, a single race is chosen as the selector race and the top finishers on that one day are selected to be on the Olympic team for that country.
What does it take to make it to the USA Olympic Trials? To the Olympics?
USA Olympic Trials Standards
To make it to the USA Olympic Trials, runners must have run faster than a certain standard at the marathon or half marathon distances on approved courses (e.g., "sanctioned" events which are also not significantly net downhill courses, and within the qualifying "window"). For the 2024 USA Olympic Trials, the standards were set at:
Men:
- Marathon: 2:18:00 or faster
- Half Marathon: 1:03:00 or faster
Women:
- Marathon: 2:37:00 or faster
- 1:12:00 or faster
With these standards, 401 athletes (228 men and 173 women) qualified for the Olympic Trials Marathon. And of those, 368 athletes (215 men and 165 women) entered to run in the Olympic Trials Marathon - that is a big race field when the goal is to select up to three runners to go to the Olympics...
Olympic Standards
The standards to be able to run the Olympics are more stringent than the standards required to run in the Olympic Trials Marathon. Only a man who has run better than 2:11:30 in a marathon is eligible to participate in the Olympics and only a woman who has run better than 2:29:30 may participate in the Olympics. Most of the runners at the Olympic Trials Marathon have never run those standards and are unlikely to ever run those times. So why are there so many runners allowed at the Olympic Trials Marathon? That is a question for another day and another article...
To make things more confusing, beginning with the 2023 World Championships, World Athletics moved away from pure time standards to qualify to participate in a world event and moved to a system which provides guaranteed spots to a country based on athletes bettering even tougher time standards and some spots being allocated based on world rankings - still up to three participants from each country.
In order for a country to have guaranteed slots at the Olympics, athletes must have achieved times at the marathon within the qualifying window of 2:08:10 for men and 2:26:50 for women. For the 2024 Olympics, only two Americans have run 2:08:10 or better, so at this moment, the USA has only two guaranteed spots for the Olympics - thanks to Conner Mantz and Clayton Young for bettering those times at the 2023 Chicago Marathon! 17 American women ran times faster than 2:26:50, so the women will have three guaranteed spots at the Olympics. But unless some other American man runs sub 2:08:10 at the Olympic Trials Marathon (highly unlikely, but possible) and/or an American man can make it based on ranking (even more unlikely), only the top two men at the Olympic Trials Marathon will be able to compete at the 2024 Olympics. The guaranteed spots do not need to go to the people ran those times, but may be reallocated to anyone who has run better than the times mentioned above (2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women).
The Men's Favorites
Conner Mantz (qualifying time: 2:07:47, 2023 Chicago Marathon)
With the fastest qualifying time in the field, Conner Mantz has set himself up as the man to beat. Mantz ran his first marathon at the 2022 Chicago Marathon in 2:08:16, a time that would probably be good enough to earn him a spot on the Olympic Team... Mantz followed that up with a difficult run at the 2023 Boston Marathon where he finished in 2:10:25 and then earned his position as top man in the field with this 2:07:47 run at the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Mantz is the one to beat.
Galen Rupp (qualifying time: 2:06:07, 2023 Chicago Marathon)
The two-time defending Olympic Trials Marathon winner and two-time Olympic medalist (including a bronze medal in the marathon in 2016), Rupp is expected by many to make the team. Although his qualifying time (2:08:48 from the 2023 Chicago Marathon) is only the third-fastest in the field, Rupp always steps up when it is needed.
Clayton Young (qualifying time: 2:08:00, 2023 Chicago Marahton)
Clayton Young holds the second best qualifying time in the field (2:08:00 from the 2023 Chicago Marathon) and is the training partner of the fastest man in the field, Conner Mantz. Running one marathon each year, Young's performance in the marathon has increased each year since his debut marathon at the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon (2:29:46) for which he qualified with a Half Marathon time. In 2021, Young improved his personal best to 2:16:07, in 2022 Young ran 2:11:51 and in 2023 Young ran 2:08:00. With that trajectory and Young's confidence, he is a strong contender to make the Olympic team.
The Women's Favorites
Emily Sisson (qualifying time: 2:18:29, 2022 Chicago Marathon)
Emily Sisson is the American record-holder in the Marathon (2:18:29) and a previous record-holder in the Half Marathon (1:06:52, since broken by Keira D'Amato) and enters the 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon as the woman with the fastest qualifying time. In our mind, Sisson should be the odds-on favorite to win the marathon and continue on to represent the USA at the Paris Olympics.
Keira D'Amato (qualifying time: 2:19:12 (2022 Houston Marathon)
Keiara D'Amato has stood among the best American runners and is a past/recent American record-holder in the marathon (2:19:12, a record since broken by Emily Sisson) and the half marathon (1:06:29, since broken in 2024). With the second best qualifying time in the field and a history of strong performances, D'Amato is expected by many to make the USA Olympic team.
Aliphine Tuliamuk (qualifying time: 2:24;37, 2023 Boston Marathon)
Aliphine Tuliamuk was the surprise winner of the 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon and enteres the 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon with the 9th fastest time in the field - one spot better than her 10th place seeding at the 2020 Trials. Again a long shot, Tuliamuk has run two personal bests in her previous two marathons and has the trejectory and experience to come out on top of, or near the top of, the field once again.
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