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It’s no secret that Saturday’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Workforce Trials had one among its most stacked fields in historical past. In a discipline stuffed with American legends, previous Olympians and rising stars, there have been a couple of dozen girls that made their means into fan and media predictions, with high athletes equivalent to Emily Sisson, Keira D’Amato and Betsy Saina being standard picks because the race bought nearer.
It’s secure to say not many individuals had 25-year-old Puma-sponsored athlete Fiona O’Keeffe on their listing, largely as a result of she had by no means run a marathon earlier than. Nevertheless it was O’Keeffe, working boldly amid the extra skilled runners round her, who took the win in 2:22:10, setting a brand new U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon document. It’s the primary time in historical past {that a} lady has received the occasion in her debut.
New Stability athlete Sisson, 32, the American record-holder within the marathon, took second in 2:22:42 to make her second Olympic staff (she positioned tenth within the 10,000 meters in Tokyo in 2021), and Dakotah Lindwurm, 28, additionally a Puma athlete, was third in 2:25:21 after fairly the battle for that third Olympic spot. All three will run the marathon within the Paris Olympics on August 11.
A Large Threat with a Large Reward
O’Keeffe, 25, who trains with Puma Elite, a Cary, North Carolina-based staff led by former skilled athletes Alistair and Amy Cragg, famous that it wasn’t essentially the plan to have her run her first marathon in such a high-stakes occasion, however slightly simply how her coaching labored out after she debuted within the half marathon solely two years in the past (which was notable in that her time of 1:07:32 on the 2022 Houston Half Marathon, was the quickest debut by an American lady on the time.
O’Keeffe went on to position sixth within the 5,000 meters on the 2022 USA Observe and Area Out of doors Championships. She missed time in 2023 after ankle surgical procedure to get better from a staph an infection, and eventually earned her ticket to the U.S. Olympic Trials final December on the Raleigh Half Marathon (1:09:34) only a day earlier than the qualifying deadline.
“[Debuting at the Trials] simply naturally made sense within the development of my coaching,” O’Keeffe mentioned within the post-race press convention.
Because the entrance pack that began with about 14 girls bought smaller because the miles ticked off, Lindwurm was one of many first athletes to take the lead. O’Keeffe, in the meantime, didn’t make a big transfer till mile 18, which was additionally nonetheless slightly early contemplating how a lot distance the ladies nonetheless had left to cowl. She ultimately put in a 30- to 40-second hole on Sisson after mile 20, by no means trying again as she grinded to the end.
“I simply actually didn’t wish to have any regrets in the present day, and I wasn’t certain at that time if it might be a mistake or if it might repay,” O’Keeffe mentioned. “I simply wished to go for it, see what occurs, and belief the coaching and preparation.”
“Fiona was nice, and I simply tried to maintain my eyes on her, pondering so long as I stored working my tempo I may reel her again in and perhaps decide it up within the final two miles, however I additionally simply stored telling myself ‘High three, high three, simply make this staff,’” Sisson added.
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A New Period of American Distance Working
A number of athletes had expressed concern concerning the late-morning begin time, which was pushed as much as 10 A.M. from an initially deliberate midday begin. Whereas beginning line temperatures had been delicate within the excessive 50s, it warmed up shortly and clearly took its toll as a number of high athletes ultimately dropped out, together with D’Amato, Saina, and 2020 Olympic Trials champion Aliphine Tuliamuk, who had been recovering from a torn hamstring.
Corridor, 40, handled the simultaneous heartbreak of lacking one other Olympic staff in her eighth total Trials, however expressed satisfaction in attaining her highest placement together with her fifth-place end (2:26:06) in Orlando. Des Linden, 40, a two-time Olympian working in her fifth U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, completed eleventh in 2:28:04; Stephanie Bruce, 40, competing lower than 5 months after giving delivery to a child lady, completed a hundred and first in 2:47:42. Jenny Simpson, 37, a former world champion within the 1,500 meters, who was competing in her first marathon, was among the many high 20 girls early however however ultimately succumbed to the warmth and the tempo and stepped off the course after Mile 18.
O’Keeffe famous that though she’s been advised as early as when she was in highschool that the marathon could be her occasion, she didn’t actually begin to imagine it till about two years in the past, when she started coaching together with her present staff. She highlighted her coaches’ expertise as being pivotal in her preparation, significantly Amy’s, as she received the 2016 U.s. Olympic Marathon in Los Angeles on an equally sizzling and humid February day.
“It’s been tremendous precious to have Amy together with her private expertise on every thing from the little particulars like adorning bottles to the larger stuff like race technique and making a dedication on the level within the race the place it does begin to damage,” O’Keeffe mentioned.
Lindwurm’s third-place end was additionally a big breakthrough after working a private finest of two:24:40 on the 2023 Chicago Marathon, which was preceded by just a few tough performances in Boston over the previous few years, in addition to dropping out on the 2022 New York Metropolis Marathon. After initially taking the lead, Lindwurm at one level fell again to seventh place earlier than shifting again as much as battle for third with Caroline Rotich, the 2015 Boston Marathon champion, within the ultimate miles.
“When it opened up and felt just like the staff was working away from me, I simply reminded myself it wasn’t over, there was loads of race left,” Lindwurm mentioned. “I’ve executed so many marathons that I do know not everybody goes to shut actually arduous, so I simply held on tight and once I handed these girls like Betsy [Saina] and Sara Corridor, I reminded myself it wasn’t over.”
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2024 Ladies’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon Results1. Fiona O’Keeffe, Cary, North Carolina, 2:22:10, $80,000*2. Emily Sisson, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2:22:42, $65,000*3. Dakotah Lindwurm, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2:25:31, $55,000*4. Jessica McClain, Phoenix, Arizona, 2:25:46, $9,0005. Sara Corridor, Crested Butte, Colorado, 2:26:06, $9,0006. Caroline Rotich, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2:26:10, $9,0007. Makenna Myler, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2:26:14, $9,0008. Lindsay Flanagan, Boulder, Colorado, 2:26:25, $9,0009. Emily Durgin, Flagstaff, Arizona, 2:27:56, $9,00010. Annie Frisbie, Edina, Minnesota, 2:27:56, $7,000* = Secured 2024 U.S. Olympic Workforce berth for the marathon within the Paris Olympics
Full girls’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon outcomes could be discovered right here.
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