Long List of Athletes Seeking Olympic Spot at U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon

By Adam Kopet

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon brings together the nation's top distance runners for the first crack at qualifying for Team USA. There were 234 men who qualified for the Trials from 39 states for this year’s event, all with some measure of hope to finish in the top three and earn a chance to compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

Four years ago, Galen Rupp, Meb Keflezighi and Jared Ward took the top three spots at the Trials in Los Angeles. Keflezighi was the veteran, having earned the silver medal in the 2004 Olympic marathon. He also finished fourth in 2012.

Rupp, on the other hand, was brand new to the marathon. He made his marathon debut at the Trials, winning as he had done many other times on the track. That first win would lead him to earning the bronze medal later that year in Rio.

Ward had already gained some experience as a marathoner, but finishing third made it clear he was among America’s elite marathoners. He went on to finish sixth in Rio, erasing any lingering doubt.

This is a new year with new, more difficult, qualifying standards. However, much like four years ago, there is a mix of veteran runners and young athletes looking to challenge the status quo.

That has already been evident this past fall where we saw fast times from a large group of athletes competing domestically and abroad. After running 2:10:53 at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, Parker Stinson said of the Trials, “I think it just got a whole lot more interesting after today.” Stinson has been forced to withdraw from the Trials due to injury, but his statement is no less true.

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Race Contenders

Abdi Abdirahman

Abdirahman holds the American masters record for the marathon, having run 2:11:34 at the 2019 New York City Marathon. At 43 years old, he is the second oldest contender in the field, having already qualified for four Olympics (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012).

Shadrack Biwott

Biwott finished seventh at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon. He also has two top-four finishes at the Boston Marathon, finishing third in 2018 and fourth in 2017. Biwott has a marathon best of 2:12:01 and has three top-five finishes at big city marathons.

Andrew Bumbalough

Bumbalough made his marathon debut in 2017, but his first high placing came at the 2018 Boston Marathon where he finished fifth in the cold, rain and wind. However, his 2019 Chicago Marathon performance, finishing 12th in 2:10:56, is his best marathon to date.

Scott Fauble

Fauble ran a personal-best 2:09:09 to finish seventh at the 2019 Boston Marathon as the top American. Before that, he was seventh at the 2018 New York City Marathon, running 2:12:28. Fauble has shown ability to race well on hilly courses.

Reed Fischer

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon will be Fischer’s debut marathon. An injury prevented him from racing the 2019 Chicago Marathon. However, Fischer is healthy again and showed his fitness with a personal-best 1:01:37 at the 2020 Houston half Marathon.

Stanley Kebenei

Kebenei, like Fischer, is making his marathon debut this weekend. He was runner-up at the 2019 USATF Half Marathon Championships, running 1:01:57. He also placed 10th at the 2019 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Kebenei was a near American record holder for 10 miles at the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile, but the course was found to be 240 feet short after the race.

Leonard Korir

Korir was a 2016 Olympian in the 10,000 meters. He also ran at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in 2017 and 2019. He made his marathon debut at the 2019 Amsterdam Marathon, running an American debut record of 2:07:56. That race came two weeks after the World Championships.

Despite only having one marathon under his belt, Korir has been a regular feature on the USATF Running Circuit. He won the USATF 20 km Championships in 59:06 and USATF Half Marathon Championships in 1:01:53.

Bernard Lagat

Lagat is a five-time Olympian. He finished fifth in the 5,000 meters at the 2016 Olympics at the age of 41, but has since moved to the roads. Now 45, Lagat has a marathon best of 2:12:10, the previous American masters record, from the 2019 Gold Coast Marathon.

Matt Llano

Llano was sixth at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon, but he had three surgeries later that year for injuries. He ran 2:12:59 to finish second at the 2018 USATF Men’s Marathon Championships. Llano followed that with marathons overseas in 2019. A disappointing Tokyo Marathon performance came before running a personal-best 2:11:14 at the 2019 Berlin Marathon.

In his build-up for the Trials, Llano ran 1:01:58 at the Houston Half Marathon and 1:02:05 at the Mesa Half Marathon.

Matthew McDonald

McDonald had his breakthrough marathon performance at the 2019 Chicago Marathon where he finished 14th in 2:11:10. His previous best of 2:14:06 came at the 2018 USATF Men’s Marathon Championships hosted by the California International Marathon. McDonald is a member of the Atlanta Track Club, making this a home marathon for him.

Jerrell Mock

Mock finished his collegiate eligibility at Colorado State in 2018. He has become a frequent competitor at USATF Running Circuit events. He made his marathon debut at the 2019 Chicago Marathon where he finished 10th in 2:10:37.

Jacob Riley

Riley missed more than two years due to injury, ultimately resulting in Haglund’s Deformity surgery. Before 2019, his last marathon was the 2016 Trials in Los Angeles where he finished 15th. Riley was the top American at the 2019 Chicago Marathon, finishing ninth in 2:10:36.

Galen Rupp

Rupp is the defending champion and the fastest American in the past four years. His personal best of 2:06:07 came from his winning performance at the 2018 Prague Marathon. However, following a fifth-place finish at the 2018 Chicago Marathon, Rupp had surgery on his heel for Haglund’s Deformity.

It took a year before Rupp returned to racing at the 2019 Chicago Marathon. However, a calf injury forced Rupp to drop out after 23 miles. He has since recovered and shown his fitness by winning the Mesa Half Marathon in 1:01:19.

Scott Smith

Smith finished 14th at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon. He has experience representing the U.S. having raced the marathon at the 2015 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Beijing. His best race, however, came at the 2019 Chicago Marathon where he ran 2:11:14 for 15th.

Jared Ward

Ward finished third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon and then sixth at the 2016 Olympics. After two years where he struggled with injury, Ward returned to top form in 2019 by finishing eighth at the Boston Marathon in 2:09:25.

Following his sub-2:10 clocking in Boston, Ward finished sixth at the 2019 New York City Marathon in 2:10:45. Last month, he was the top American at the Houston Half Marathon, running a personal-best 1:01:36.