Fiona O’Keeffe smashed the women’s U.S. Olympic marathon trials record in her debut at the distance on a warm Saturday to secure her spot in the Paris Games.
O’Keeffe finished in a time 2 hours, 22 minutes, 10 seconds to break the American marathon trials mark of 2:25:38 set by Shalane Flanagan in 2012 in Houston. Emily Sisson, the U.S. marathon record holder, was second and Minnesota’s Dakotah Lindwurm surged into third to make Team USA for Paris.
On the men’s side, training partners and good friends Conner Mantz and Clayton Young finished 1-2 to qualify for Paris. They celebrated with the crowd as they made their way to the finish line. Mantz finished in a time of 2:09:05 as Young gave way near the end and finished a second behind.
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Leonard Korir used a late surge to take third, but he now plays the waiting game until May to see if a third Olympic spot is unlocked on the American men’s marathon side. He finished in 2:09.57, just off the time (2:08.10) he needed to guarantee a spot in the Paris Games.