Few athletics competitions are as compelling as the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon, a pair of one-off races to determine who will wear the red, white, and blue at the Games. This year's edition on February 3 in Orlando, Florida, will be the 15th for the men and the 11th for the women, and every race has had its own personality over the years. Battling the vagaries of weather, course difficulty and mental and physical preparation, athletes also gamble on their pre-race nutritional needs and a litany of other performance preferences, hoping and praying that it all comes together on the day to put them in a place where they can not only perform at an optimal level, but also beat out their fellow Olympic hopefuls and end up on the podium and on the plane to Paris. Orlando offers a flat course and a record prize purse, with $600,000 available to the top 10 men's and women's finishers, all viewed by a national TV audience eager to see who crosses the line first. Five of the six Team USA marathoners from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 will toe the line, all three men and two of the women.
2016 bronze medalist Galen Rupp is a veteran of four Olympic Games, on the track and on the road, finishing eighth in the marathon at Tokyo and sporting a silver in the 10,000 from London 2012. He won the 2020 Trials and has a PB of 2:06:07 from Prague in 2018, dipping under 2:10 seven times in his career. Rupp was eighth at Chicago in October and recently clocked 62:37 in the half marathon at Houston. 47-year-old Abdi Abdirahman will be competing in his sixth Olympic Trials, track and road, and Jake Riley is also back after finishing second at the 2020 Trials. Abdirahman is a five-time Olympian, having made appearances in the 10,000 in 2000, 2004 and 2008, and in the marathon in 2012 and 2021. He last raced in 2022 and his last marathon finish was 24th at Boston in 2021 after the Olympics. Riley was 54th at Berlin last September and took 28th at the Tokyo Games. Both men qualified for the Trials this year based on USATF Rule 8, earning their spot because they were in the top three at the previous Trials.
Zach Panning was the top U.S. man at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest last August, placing 13th, and he has a best of 2:09:28 from his 11th-place finish at Chicago in 2022. Panning has only three 26-milers under his belt in his career but has sub-28:00 speed in the 10,000 on the track and was 10th at last year's USATF Cross Country Championships. Placing 13th at Boston and Chicago the past two years, Nico Montañez won the USATF 15K title in 2022 and has a marathon PB of 2:09:55. He was 55th at Budapest. Four times a Team USATF member at the World Championships, 40-year-old Elkanah Kibet's best global finish was 16th in 2017. Kibet ran his PB of 2:10:43 at Prague last May and was 11th at the New York City marathon.
Former BYU teammates Conner Mantz and Clayton Young have the top two entry times, and they have track credentials that should earn them great respect. Mantz is the speediest of the 200+ entrants with a 2:07:47 PB he set in taking sixth at Chicago last fall, while Young was not far behind at 2:08:00 in seventh. Mantz had the unusual honor of winning two NCAA cross country titles in a single year in 2021 and was the USATF 20K champion in 2022. He has run 27:25.23 for 10,000 on the track and clocked 60:55 for the half marathon. Young won the 2019 NCAA 10,000 gold and notched USATF Road Running Circuit wins at 8K, 10K and 20K last year. Ninth at Chicago in a PB 2:08:50, Sam Chelanga returned to competition after a brief retirement to join the Army, and his comeback trail has been littered with success. Chelanga, 38, earned silver in the 10,000 at the Pan American Games last year and was 21st at the World Cross Country Championships in Australia. He has a half marathon PB of 60:37, tying him for seventh on the all-time U.S. performer list, and has gone 13:04.35 and 27:08.39 on the track in his career. A trio of seventh place finishes at Boston in 2019, 2022 and 2023 have made Scott Fauble a solid contender, and he has a record-legal 2:09:42 PB to go with the 2:08:52 he ran at Boston in 2022. Fauble represented Team USATF at the 2017 World Cross Country Championships and had a 61:11 PB in the half marathon at Houston in 2022. Ten-time USATF champion Leonard Korir was 14th in the 10,000 at Rio 2016 and twice represented the country at the World Championships at that distance. Just off the podium at the marathon Trials in Atlanta in 2020 with a fourth-place finish, he is the third-fastest American ever at the half marathon, a 59:52 at New Delhi in 2017, and sixth-fastest in the marathon with a 2:07:56 at Amsterdam in 2019. Futsum Zienasellassie lurks just outside the U.S. all-time top 20 performer list in the marathon, boasting a best of 2:09:40 that placed him 11th at Rotterdam last year. He added a 2:12:09 in 10th at New York City and was 33rd in the half marathon at the inaugural World Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia. Zienasellassie was the 2019 USATF 10 Mile champion and has a half marathon PB of 61:21. Two other sub-2:10 performers, Brian Shrader and Matthew McDonald, were in the top 15 at Chicago last fall, with Shrader 11th in a PB 2:09:46 and McDonald 13th. Shrader, the 2014 USATF 12K champion, was the bronze medalist in the USATF 15K and 5 K in 2023. McDonald set his PB of 2:09:49 to take 12th at Chicago in 2022 and was 10th at Boston last year. He placed 10th at the 2020 Trials.
While fast times make for good discussion and confident picks in the fantasy draft, the marathon also has a history of rewarding that "mystery" man who puts it all together on the day and comes away with a coveted Olympic berth. Out of the more than 200 men who will line up in Orlando, there are several who stand out as potential for the podium. CJ Albertson, former holder of the world 50K record, goes through marathons like most of us go through paper towels. In the space of just more than a month last year, Albertson completed three marathons, the slowest of which was 2:11:36. He did two on consecutive weekends at Sacramento and at Mexicali, Mexico, and won all three. Albertson was 12th at Boston in 2023 and set his PB of 2:10:52 at Grandma's in 2022 in Duluth. He made headlines in 2019 when he completed an indoor marathon at New York City's Armory, clocking 2:18:00 on the 200-meter oval. Before transferring allegiance to the U.S. in late 2022, Teshome Mekonen racked up a half marathon PB of 60:02 at Valencia, Spain, in 2018 and was 11th at the 2016 World Half Marathon Championships for Ethiopia. In 2023 he was third at Houston and then cruised to a PB 2:10:16 for 24th at Berlin in September. The trio of Joel Reichow, Andrew Colley and Frank Lara were in the top 20 at Chicago in October, and the first two recorded PBs. Reichow was 14th in 2:10:37, with Colley one spot behind him in 2:11:22. Colley earned silver at the USATF Cross Country Championships last year and went on to take 36th at the World Championships in Australia. Lara, who was also 11th at London last year, has a PB of 2:11:32 that put him sixth at Houston in 2022 and set his half marathon best of 61:00 at Valencia two years ago to rank No. 12 on the all-time U.S. performer list. Reed Fischer was 10th at New York City in 2022 and 16th at Boston in 2:10:54. His half marathon PB of 61:37 in 2020 came five weeks before he contested the marathon Trials in Atlanta, where he made his debut at the longer distance. Rio 2016 5000 silver medalist and Tokyo bronze medalist Paul Chelimo is the ultimate wildcard, bringing not only major global hardware but also superb track PBs into his marathon debut. Chelimo, who ran 62:22 for the half marathon at Berlin last year, has run 12:57.55 for the 5000 and 27:12.73 for the 10,000. A gritty competitor, Chelimo can be a factor if he can stay near the lead pack past 20 miles. Tied with Chelanga for fifth on the all-time U.S. half marathon performer list at 60:37, Biya Simbassa already has a 60:45 half to his credit in 2024, taking fourth at Houston, and he clocked 2:10:34 in his marathon debut at Prague last year. Winner of the USATF championship at the Bix 7 Miler this year, Simbassa also won the 2022 national 10K road crown and has a slew of top-five finishes on the USATF Running Circuit over the past few years. He was 25th in the half at the World Road Running Championships in Latvia in 2023.
With more than 10 of the women's entrants already having met the Olympic qualifying time standard of 2:26:50, this race will have a very different flavor from the men's event, where two have met the time standard.
Tokyo bronze medalist Molly Seidel was eighth at Chicago last fall, setting a PB of 2:23:07, and she also had an eighth-place finish in the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Seidel, the first American woman to medal in the Games marathon since Deena Kastor in 2004, was the NCAA 10,000 champion in 2015, the same year she captured the collegiate cross country crown. She was a double victor in the 3000 and 5000 at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships, and made her marathon debut at the 2020 Trials, taking second. She was sixth at London that fall and then fourth at New York in 2021, three months after her bronze at the Olympics. Aliphine Tuliamuk won the 2020 Trials and last year took top honors at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. Formerly representing Kenya, Tuliamuk was on that nation's U20 team at the 2005 World Cross Country Championships. She has seven USATF titles to her credit and set her PB of 2:26:18 at New York in 2022. Tuliamuk was the NCAA 10,000 silver medalist for Wichita State in 2013 and earned bronze in the indoor 3000 that year. Seventh at Rio 2016, Des Linden is making one more try at Olympic qualifying at age 40. Linden made her first Olympic appearance at London in 2012 and placed 10th at the 2009 World Championships. She earned silver in the 10,000 at the 2015 Pan American Games. Winner of the 2018 Boston Marathon, Linden has an affinity for the legendary race, completing it 11 times and finishing as runner-up in 2011. Linden was 17th at Chicago last fall in 2:27:35.
All three of Team USATF's World Championships crew from Budapest are entered, led by Lindsay Flanagan, who placed ninth. Flanagan was eighth at Tokyo last March and set her PB of 2:24:43 in 2022 at the Gold Coast Marathon. She earned silver at the 2015 Pan American Games and has recorded her four best career times in the past two seasons. At the London 2017 World Championships, Flanagan was 37th. Former American marathon and half marathon record holder Keira D'Amato was 17th at Budapest and eighth at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene. D'Amato, who set her PB of 2:19:12 at Houston in 2022 zipped to a 66:39 half marathon AR at the Gold Coast last July. She won USATF 6K and 20K titles two years ago and was the runner-up at 25K. Susanna Sullivan's 2:24:27 at London last April earned her a trip to Budapest, her first World Championships berth, where she took 58th. Sullivan was eighth at the USATF Cross Country Championships in 2023 and will be running in her third Trials marathon. At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Team USATF put together a stellar performance with three women in the top eight. Sara Hall was fifth in 2:22:10, and her storied career on and off the track includes Pan American Games steeplechase gold in 2011 and three World Indoor Championships appearances at 3000, topped by an eighth-place finish in 2012. Hall set her PB of 2:20:32 in 2020 at Chandler, Arizona, and set an AR in the half marathon in 2022 with a 67:15 at Houston. Her 2:22:01 at London in 2020 garnered her runner-up status. Going back to Doha 2019, Roberta Groner was sixth and ran a superb race in steamy conditions. Now 46, Groner has a PB of 2:29:09 from Rotterdam in 2019. Her Doha teammate, Kelsey Bruce, is also entered here and has a 2:31:53 PB from 2019 at Houston.
American record holder Emily Sisson is far and away the quickest in the field with a best of 2:18:29 that earned her silver at Chicago in 2022. Sisson also briefly held the half marathon AR with a 66:52 at Houston in January 2023. Last year she won USATF crowns at 15K and 20K and was seventh at Chicago. An Olympic finalist in the 10,000 at Tokyo, Sisson also repped Team USATF twice in the 10,000, at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships. Possessing above average foot speed, Sisson has a 5,000 PB of 14:53.84 and a 10,000 best of 30:49.57. Fifth in the 10,000 at the 2016 Olympics for Kenya, Betsy Saina transferred her allegiance to the U.S. in 2021. She was fifth at the Tokyo Marathon last year in a PB 2:21:40 and won at Sydney. Her first USATF national title came in the 25K, and she also rolled to a 68:25 half marathon at Seville. Saina won three NCAA titles for Iowa State, taking gold in the 10,000 in 2013 after winning the indoor 5,000 and cross country the previous year. Sara Vaughn made her international debut for Team USATF in the 1500 at the 2012 World Indoor Championships, and she was a semifinalist at that distance in 2017 at London. Moving up, way up, in distance she won her debut marathon at Sacramento in 2021 and was seventh at Chicago the next year before taking 10th in a PB 2:23:24 last year. Debuting at the 2021 Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, Gabriella Rooker ran a modest 2:56:27. She destroyed that PB the next year, going 2:34:59 and broke 2:30 on the downhill course at Sacramento. Coming into her own at age 36 last year, Rooker dropped her PB twice, running 2:27:38 for bronze at Grandma's and then placing 11th at Chicago in 2:24:35. Not bad for a former NCAA Division III gymnastics star at Wisconsin-La Crosse! Another woman who made her marathon debut at the Grandma's race, this time in 2019, Dakotah Lindwurm has chopped almost 10 minutes off her first PB since then. She was the runner-up at the USATF Championships in St. Paul four months after her debut and placed 36th at the 2020 Trials. Winning twice at Grandma's in 2021 and 2022, Lindwurm set her PB of 2:24:40 to place 12th at Chicago last fall. Two years ago, at Houston, she clocked a PB 69:36 for the half marathon. Bronze medalist at the 2023 USATF Half Marathon Championships, Nell Rojas earned silver in the 6K national championships last year and placed 14th at the Boston Marathon in 2:24:51. Her legal-course marathon PB of 2:28:09 came at Duluth in 2019. Rojas was a top-10 finisher at the Houston Half Marathon last month, setting a PB of 68:52 to rank 16th on the all-time U.S. performer list. Four other athletes have entry times faster than 2:27:00, led by Sarah Sellers, the 2018 Boston runner-up who has run a best of 2:25:43. That earned Sellers, the 11th-place finisher at the 2020 Trials, the runner-up spot at Duluth in 2022. Lauren Hagans set her lifetime best of 2:25:56 at Duluth to win last year and was the USATF Half Marathon silver medalist. She has a half marathon PB of 69:41 from last year's Valencia race. Placing 14th at Chicago last fall, Tristin Van Ord lowered her PB to 2:25:58 and took more than a minute off her previous best that was set at Houston in January. Van Ord was 52nd at the 2020 Trials. Rounding out the quartet, Emily Durgin earned her Trials spot with a 2:26:46 to take fifth at Toronto last fall. Durgin was the bronze medalist at the USATF Cross Country Championships and at the USATF 20K Championships.
One of the most decorated American middle-distance runners ever, marathon debutante Jenny Simpson has track honors that will collapse a cabinet. She won World Championships 1500 gold in 2011, took silver in 2013 and 2017, and earned Olympic bronze in 2016 at Rio. She was also fourth in the steeplechase at the 2009 World Championships and eighth at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. A three-time NCAA steeplechase gold medalist for Colorado, Simpson has won 11 USATF titles at various distances. She earned her starting spot at the Trials with a 1:10:35 half marathon at Houston in 2023. The seventh-fastest American woman ever at 10,000 with a 30:48.69 PB, Natosha Rogers was a top-15 finisher at the past two World Championships. She also ran the 5000 for Team USATF at Budapest and has a PB of 14:52.21i to make her the No. 8 all-time U.S indoor performer. Rogers qualified for the marathon Trials with a 1:10:57 half marathon at Boston last year.
Fans can watch live on Peacock, NBC.com, and the NBC/NBC Sports app starting at 10 a.m. ET with a tape delay TV broadcast airing at noon ET. A full list of entrants can be found here. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #MarathonTrials24 and following @USATF on Instagram, Facebook, and X.