Rupp, Ward lead incredible men’s field into 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon

ATLANTA – Galen Rupp and Jared Ward, who placed first and third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon lead the way Saturday, headlining a deep and talented men’s field that brings together the best of the best to compete for a spot on Team USA in Atlanta.
 
The U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon are the second stop on the 2020 USATF Running Circuit. The top three finishers Saturday will represent the United States as the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer. Fans can tune-in for the live broadcast beginning at 12:00pm ET on NBC or NBC Sports Gold, with the men’s race beginning at 12:08pm ET and the women’s race starting at 12:20pm ET.
 
While Rupp had to drop out of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October, he still enters Saturday’s race as the prohibitive favorite. Rupp ran the top qualifying mark at the Prague Marathon in 2018, finishing in 2:06:07, while earning fifth at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon that fall in 2:06:21.
 
In addition to earning bronze in the marathon at the Olympic Games in Rio, finishing second at the Boston Marathon in 2017 and winning in Chicago in 2017, Rupp has unmatched big-race experience against the field. The Portland-based runner recently ran a tune-up half marathon in Arizona, finishing in 1:01:19, proving he’s in excellent shape.
 
Not to be outdone, Ward also has some impressive finishes to his name after finishing third in Los Angeles four years ago. The Utah-based standout placed sixth at the Olympic Games in Rio and has consistently shown his ability to finish well up the results at major events.
 
Ward ran to an eighth-place effort at the Boston Marathon last spring, finishing in 2:09:25, while earning top American status at the TCS New York City Marathon in November with a sixth-place effort. Recently running 1:01:36 at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon and finishing as the top American gives Ward plenty of momentum heading into Atlanta.
 
On paper, Leonard Korir is the next top challenger. While Korir has only run one marathon, it was a great performance. At the Amsterdam Marathon last fall, Korir ran the second fastest qualifying mark of Saturday’s field, placing 11^th overall in 2:07:56, making him the top American performer over the distance in 2019. Along with his success on the USATF Running Circuit, as well as on the track, Korir certainly has the ability to push for the win.
 
Next up is Scott Fauble. The HOKA ONE ONE Northern Arizona Elite star has proven himself time and time again the past two years, quickly rising the ranks of American marathoning. Fauble placed seventh at the TCS New York City Marathon in 2018, finishing only four seconds behind Ward, while placing as the top American at the Boston Marathon in 2019 in 2:09:08, while beating Ward.
 
The trio of Jacob Riley, Jerrell Mock and Parker Stinson are also prime to put themselves in contention over the final miles, pushing for a spot on the Olympic team. The trio finished ninth, tenth and eleventh at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Riley has the most experience of the group and his 2:10:53 effort in Chicago rank him as one of the top five fastest in the field Saturday.
 
Mock placed four seconds back from Riley and has shown success on the roads, while Stinson is arguably the most accomplished on the roads, having won the USATF 25 km Championship last year, placed second at the USATF Half Marathon Championships in 2018, while running 2:10:53 in Chicago. Stinson’s front-running style could place him atop of the lead group in Atlanta for much of the race.
 
Reed Fischer recently ran a 1:01:37 performance at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, finishing as the second fastest American on the day. While still inexperienced on the roads, he’s continually progressed since graduating from Drake University and has become a top tier American distance runner.
 
Two other notable top contenders are Elkanah Kibet and Shadrack Biwott. Kibet has quietly become one of America’s best marathoners, having placed 11^th at the Boston Marathon in 2019 and eighth at the 2018 Boston Marathon. Owning a personal best of 2:11:51, he ranks well in Saturday’s field.
 
For Biwott, the former University of Oregon standout looks to be back in top shape, after a tremendous 2018 campaign, which saw him place third as the top American at the Boston Marathon, following that up with a ninth-place effort at the TCS New York City Marathon.
 
The trio of Matt Llano, Andrew Bumbalough and Chris Derrick are also looking to make an Olympic-sized result Saturday. Bumbalough enters with a 2:10:56 best coming at the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
 
Llano ran to a 14^th place finish at the BMW Berlin Marathon in 2:11:14, while running only 12 seconds off his personal best in the half marathon at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon last month, finishing in 1:01:58.
 
For Derrick, injuries have slowed him much of the past few years, but when healthy he’s one of America’s best distance runners and showed as much with a tenth-place effort at the TCS New York City Marathon in 2018.
 
Another trio of incredibly experienced veterans are also entered and will be looking to make one more push for an Olympic berth. Bernard Lagat, Abdi Abdirahman and Dathan Ritzenhein are all American distance running legends. Each has qualified for at least three Olympics and represented the United States extremely well on the world stage.
 
Lagat and Abdirahman have the best odds to push for a top five finish. Lagat, who is coming off a training stint in Kenya, ran to a seventh-place finish at the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia last year, finishing in 2:12:10. For Abdirahman, he placed an impressive ninth overall at the TCS New York City Marathon this past fall in 2:11:34.
 
Other top contenders entered Saturday are 2018 USATF Marathon champion Brogan Austin, 2019 TCS New York City Marathon tenth place finisher Connor McMillan, 2018 Boston Marathon fourth place finisher Tyler Pennell, experienced veteran Ryan Vail, 2012 Olympian Diego Estrada, 2018 Boston Marathon sixth place finisher Scott Smith, former NCAA champion Sam Chelanga, veteran Brendan Gregg, and multi-time World Championship team member Stanley Kebenei.
 
About the USATF Running Circuit
 
The USATF Running Circuit is a USATF road series featuring USATF championships from one mile through the marathon and consistently attracts the best American distance runners with more than $500,000 to be awarded in total prize money. A total of $480,000 in prize money will be awarded at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon
 
The first ten U.S. runners earn points at each USATF Running Circuit race. For the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon, scoring is set as 30 for first, 24 for second, 20 for third, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2, with those earning the most points receiving prize money at the end of the series.
 
The mission of the USATF Running Circuit is to showcase, support and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USATF Running Circuit and its races have provided over $7 million to U.S. distance runners.
 
Contributed by Scott Bush