Quotes - U.S. Olympic Trials - Marathon

USATF Release - Flash Quotes, February 13, 2016

Galen Rupp, first place men’s finisher

"Very excited with the way it went. Tremendous honor to represent the United States. It’s the greatest honor on earth. I’m so happy to be able to make my debut here and to be able to win was unbelievable. I’m so honored to be going to the Olympics."

"It was good. It was a flat course. Heat was the biggest thing and I was struggling the last little bit, everyone was. I was just trying to make sure I drank a lot coming in, that was big for me. Staying hydrated was important.”

Meb Keflezighi, second place men’s finisher

"It’s an honor to represent the United States. Making my fourth Olympic team, I couldn’t have done it without my family. I was cramping a bit early in the race but felt better a little after halfway.”

“Galen, welcome to the marathon. Running with him, hopefully we gave the crowd some excitement. He gave a great effort and was great at the end. I’d like to congratulate him. I’m his teammate going to Rio. He’s my marathon teammate now.”

Jared Ward, third place men’s finisher

“It was hot and hard, that’s it. When Tyler made that move, and Meb and Rupp went with him, I thought that’s a hard move. If they can make it, I’m not going to catch them. So I went as fast as I could and I ran 4:50 that mile, and I’m sure that was my fastest mile. It was just hang on and I saw Tyler coming back and when I caught him, that was an adrenaline rush. 800m to go was the hardest thing of my life. With 600m to go, I started singing that song and changing the words. I said, ‘do it for your momma, do it for your wife, do it for your kids and do it for your life.’ It was just enough and that was the end of it.”

Amy Hastings, first place women’s finisher

“Des was coming up on us and I knew I had to go for it.”

“This has been my dream for so long. Representing the United States in any event is something so incredibly special.”

Desiree Linden, second place women’s finisher

“It was absolutely a war of attrition. Amy was so impressive and Shalane is tough as nails. Late in the race, I didn’t even know if I was going to be on the team. I was cramping hard but you fight for every step.”

Shalane Flanagan, third place women’s finisher

"She is the epitome of what a best friend is...She was instrumental. There was a point in the race where I thought I would drop out. Sweet baby Jesus, I'm so thankful for her.”

“That was the hardest marathon I’ve probably run in terms of the last 6 miles being the hardest. I just got done getting an IV. Never had one of those before. Clearly it took its toll on me today and I had to fight to just make the team. I can’t only say it was just the heat, but I think I need to work on better fluid for the heat and conditions. I’ll have to work on that for Rio for sure.”