Galen Rupp, Jacob Riley and Abdi Abdirahman Qualify for Olympics in Atlanta at U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon

By Adam Kopet

On a sunny and windy day, 228 men took to the streets of Atlanta at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon to race for the chance to represent Team USA in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Galen Rupp won the men’s race with a dominant final 11 miles as he pulled away from all of his challengers to win in 2:09:20, repeating his win from 2016. Jacob Riley and Abdi Abdirahman finished second and third in a sprint finish, running 2:10:02 and 2:10:03 to also earn Olympic berths.

RACE RESULTS | WOMEN'S RECAP | POST-RACE INTERVIEWS | EVENT COVERAGE

The race started eight minutes past noon under sunny skies at 46 degrees Fahrenheit. The athletes started into a 16-mile per hour wind, creating difficult weather conditions on an already hilly course.

Luke Puskedra, who finished fourth at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon, took up the early pace, pulling away from the field in the first mile (5:04). C.J. Albertson caught him by two miles, which they passed together in 9:46, running the second mile in 4:42. The main pack was 11 seconds back.

However, that early lead would not hold as the pack reeled Puskedra and Albertson back by four miles, which the leaders reached in 19:44.

Next it was Brian Shrader to take his turn leading the race. He crossed five miles in 24:44, four seconds ahead of Dan Nestor and 10 seconds ahead of the lead pack. Nestor would go on to catch Shrader and the pair raced side-by-side for more than two miles, but Nestor would fade after eight miles and get caught by the main pack just after 14 miles.

Shrader’s lead over the main pack would grow to 55 seconds at 10 miles, but the pack, several times led by Rupp, began to cut into that lead.

Shrader reached halfway in 1:04:53. That put him on personal best pace, but his lead appeared numbered. Nestor hit halfway 32 seconds down. The chase pack of 43 athletes had narrowed the gap to Shrader to 48 seconds.

Rupp surged going into 15 miles. He passed Shrader just before 16 miles with Augustus Maiyo, Matthew McDonald, Abdirahman and Leonard Korir close behind. Shrader would go on to drop out after falling off the lead pace.

That pack stayed together until 19 miles when Rupp once again broke the race open. Rupp held a one-second lead at 19 miles and it would only grow from there. He passed 20 miles in 1:38:51. His lead would grow to 57 seconds by mile 25, making it clear he would be the winner.

With Rupp away from the field and on his way to repeat victory, the race was on for the final two qualifying spots for the Tokyo Olympic Games. Abdirahman, Maiyo and Korir coalesced into a solid chase pack as McDonald found himself begin to drop back over the final miles.

However, the big move came from Riley. At 19 miles, he sat back in 10th place. He passed 20 miles in 1:39:33, moving up to sixth. He continued to lose ground on Rupp at the front, but his goal was to finish in the top three and he was running faster than everyone but Rupp.

By 24 miles, Riley had closed the gap to the chasing trio from more than 30 seconds to only two seconds. The addition of Riley to the chasing group added a sense of urgency that upped the pace to slightly close the gap on the leading Rupp.

It was a pace that Maiyo could not maintain. Instead, it was Riley and Abdirahman making the race with Korir doing his best to hold on.

Rupp eased up over the final mile, safely winning in 2:09:20.

It would be a sprint to name the final two qualifiers to Tokyo. Riley and Abdirahman pushed themselves to the limit to take second and third, running 2:10:02 and 2:10:03 with Korir finishing a disappointing fourth in 2:10:06.

For Rupp, this will be his fourth Olympics and his second competing in the marathon. He earned the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. This race also marks a successful return from surgery for Haglund’s syndrome in 2018.

Riley qualifies for his first Olympic Games, running a personal best in the best race of his career. Before running last year’s Chicago Marathon, Riley’s previous marathon was the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon where he finished 15th. Like Rupp, he previously had surgery for Haglund’s syndrome.

Abdirahman made his fifth Olympic team at the age of 43. He lowered his American masters record for the marathon by 1:31. He raced the 10,000 meters at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics and the marathon at the 2012 Olympics.

Korir, who finished fourth and three seconds back from a qualifying spot, has a bright future in the marathon. He holds the American debut record from last year at the Amsterdam Marathon, but the hills of Atlanta took their toll. He remains an alternate for the Olympic team.

Top-10 Results

2:09:20 Galen Rupp
2:10:02 Jacob Riley
2:10:03 Abdi Abdirahman
2:10:06 Leonard Korir
2:10:47 Augustus Maiyo
2:11:29 Martin Hehir
2:11:49 C.J. Albertson
2:12:10 Jonas Hampton
2:12:14 Collin Bennie
2:12:19 Matthew McDonald